|
Page 19 of 21
Skatepark Maintenance
Too many skateparks suffer from poor or inadequate maintenance. Infrequent or inexperienced inspections often lead to situations that are hazardous to the user and hard to detect by non-skateboarders.
Metal And/Or Wood Structures
Inspections
Modular or prefabricated skateparks are usually made with steel structures and wood or composite riding surfaces. Prefabricated ramps are assembled on a concrete slab with the obstacles arranged in a series or facing each other for back-and-forth runs.
Without adequate protection from the elements, some materials will wear very quickly and require frequent inspections and repairs.
Inspections should be frequent, and while the park is new the focus should be on loose screws or bolts, cracks, and coping that has become unfastened. General inspections should occur twice a week with a thorough inspection happening twice a month.
Composite Surfaces
Though meant to look and ride like Masonite, a popular composite topsheeting material is favored by many prefabricated-ramp manufacturers. It is more durable and weatherproof than wood, while toothier and providing more friction than steel. It is produced in standard 4x8-foot sheets and can be fixed to the plywood substrate just like hardboard (e.g., Masonite) so repairs are relatively simple procedures.
While more durable than wood, this material can chip at high-impact areas. Bicycle pegs and axles from bikes and skateboards can quickly produce deep, dangerous potholes. The wear is caused by the high traffic, so any deep divots or tripping hazards will be a safety concern.
Raised screw heads may not be visible until some weight is placed on the top sheet.
Topsheets are typically secured with square-head wood screws and penetrate the substrate plywood or supporting beams beneath. When the screws are subject to the vibration of daily use they can work themselves loose, which then allows moisture to penetrate the layers of surface material or even the substrate. This will lead to serious long-term maintenance headaches, as the screws will need to be reset.
In addition to moisture concerns, screws that loosen too much will present tripping hazards to the users or become sharp—unseen points that can easily cut someone when they fall or slide. Because loosening screws are clearly within the domain of regular maintenance, injuries caused by loose screws present an issue for management.
Parks featuring composite surface materials should be inspected twice a week for general upkeep and twice a month with a thorough inspection.
Wood Surfaces
Wood surfaces are rarely seen in public, municipal skateparks because these materials lack the durability for the kind of use these skateparks attract. Private skateparks often use wood because it is relatively inexpensive to replace, so when specific topsheets are showing wear, they can easily be rotated to areas with less traffic. Parks maintenance crews will probably not want to exert this degree of inspection and maintenance.
Indoor parks with masonite surfaces
need to be wiped with a damp mop at
least twice daily.
Wood should be inspected for cracks, slivers, and signs of trapped moisture twice a week.
Steel Surfaces
Steel presents the most durable surface for prefabricated skateboarding ramps. The sheets are generally welded into place onto the steel structure. No substrate is necessary. The steel is usually painted or powder-coated to protect it from moisture and improve the surface’s friction.
Steel will not require more than a cursory weekly inspection to identify any major structural failures and only a single meticulous monthly inspection for signs of rust, corrosion, and moisture.
Substrates
Substrates only tend to be used in wood and composite structures. The topsheets are fixed to the substrate that provides support and consistency for the angles and curves of the structures. Substrates are usually 3/8-inch or ½-inch treated plywood. The substrates are themselves secured to the underlying framework, which can be steel or wood, with bolts or screws.
Moisture can accelerate delamination on the top-sheets, allowing moisture to reach the substrate. This should be replaced immediately.
Care should be taken where the ends of the substrate is exposed to the elements. Moisture, debris, and mosses can swell or expand these cracks and, over time, present significant maintenance issues.
Standing water will also quickly swell the substrates and loosen the fixtures that keep the ramp sturdy. While the ramp may look dry and provide adequate use, the vibrations through the moist wood will strip wood screws and produce an insecure structure. Users and maintenance personnel will not usually identify the problem until it’s too late to prevent.
Structure
Support structure is how many prefabricated skatepark companies differentiate their products. Some use steel tubing, others use angle iron, while others may use wood or even plastic. The best maintenance regimen for this component of the structures is the manufacturer’s recommendation.
Loosening bolts or screws is always of paramount concern due to the critical failures and safety liabilities they can introduce.
Railings and other safety or comfort amenities should also be checked for loosening or significant wear. In all cases, bolts with a ½-inch or 3/8-inch hex head or 3mm Allen hex head should be avoided as these are the same sizes as the common parts of a skateboard. Skaters often carry tools of these dimensions and may be tempted to reconfigure those parts of the park that are easily modified.
Rearranging the Park
Most prefabricated-ramp sales brochures claim that reconfiguring the park periodically will provide renewed interest. However, few Parks Departments seriously consider executing this major project. Despite what many brochures claim, rearranging a skatepark is generally not a wise idea. Lifting assembled ramps, even with a forklift or crane, can stress joints and connections. In time, the ramps can become distorted or unstable. Once assembled, skateboarding ramps should not be moved repeatedly.
Kickplates that aren't flush with the ground or each other should be a serious safety concern for any park inspector.
At the leading edge of each ramp is a steel kickplate that transitions the rider from the concrete slab surface to the curved top-sheet material. The steel may, over time, develop a characteristic shape that works well for the contours of the slab in that particular area. By moving the structure, the kickplate may need to become conditioned to its new location. If a gap is produced it will trip skaters and present a safety concern.
Moving ramps around may also introduce access to parts of the structure that were not anticipated and may present new maintenance concerns. Steel plates and reinforcements are often placed in the prefabricated structures to protect or reinforce high-traffic areas. When the park is rearranged, new traffic lines will appear. Careful inspections should take place after a park is rearranged to ensure that new problems haven’t been introduced.
Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Structures
There is no shortage of DIY success stories. As munici-palities have been slow to provide adequate skateboarding terrain, skaters have relied on innovation and anti-institutional philosophies to create their own recreational spots. Though many cities have destroyed the DIY skate structures as they appeared, others have negotiated particular constraints and made concessions to allow the activity to continue. Notable success stories like Burnside in Portland, Oregon and Washington Street in San Diego, California have set precedents for other advocacy groups to consider this innovative direction. To date, Burnside is one of the world’s most famous skateparks, in part because of its grassroots history.
One of several advantages to DIY stuctures is that there is a group of local craftsmen ready to make any necessary repairs.
The more common scenario is when enthusiastic individuals buy a few bags of cement or Quik-crete and modify existing innocuous structures into challenging skateable obstacles. Frequently these little “patches” go unnoticed for months and it is only the increasing skateboarding activity, as word gets around, that alerts others to the structure. Because the structure was not sanctioned, most citizens and public workers presume that the structure must be removed.
Skaters with rudimentary carpentry skills will sometimes import their own structures to the municipal skatepark. Administrators may not understand or appreciate homemade ramps and boxes finding their place in the park. However, it’s important to understand that portable DIY structures are a sign that the fixed skatepark does not provide adequate interest or challenge to the regular users. Though the new unsanctioned structures may not comply with fundamental safety regulations, a skatepark that lacks sufficient interest to retain steady use essentially puts skaters back out on the street where they are far more likely to be seriously injured.
DIY structures can sometimes be made using concrete. If those individuals approach the Parks Department prior to construction, it is worth everyone’s time to allow the concept full consideration. The project can be mutually beneficial with the skaters becoming invested in the health and function of the skatepark and the Parks Department seeing increased ownership and attraction to the facility. There is a growing trend by skatepark administrators to work closely with their local skateboarders to find ways to improve upon existing, inadequate facilities. This uncharacteristic partnership has many benefits, the emerging partnership between local skateboarders and administration being the most significant.
Edging/Coping
The leading edge of skatepark structures must withstand the majority of heavy use. Most skateboarding tricks occur on a ledge or lip of an obstacle or structure. These edges are sometimes referred to as coping, a term coined from curved pool (or bull nose) edging that continues to be popular in some styles of skateparks.
Coping can be any type of material, but it must be extremely durable. Coping made from 2-3/8–3-inch OD (outside diameter) steel tube or cement (either pre-cast or formed in place) are the most common materials for use on curved or transitional structures. Lightly beveled concrete, angle iron, and granite are commonly found in the geometric, block-like street-style structures. All of these materials withstand the heavy use fairly well, but some materials are less common, tend to provide a new skating experience, and are thus considered premium by their users. Granite and marble are signature materials that most experienced street skaters will note, while pre-cast pool-block coping will often attract pool-skating aficionados. The judicious use of these materials will ensure that the new skatepark will garner positive attention.
Small cracks in concrete are typical and generally pose no cause for concern.
Coping inspection and repair is important, due to the heavy use it receives. Steel-tube coping should never receive structural damage if the park was built and is being used as intended, though the points of contact with the ramp structure should be periodically checked as screws may loosen and introduce unwanted movement. Welds, especially in newly built structures, should be carefully inspected for cracks. The sharp, heavy impact of skateboarding can sometimes cause faulty welds to reveal themselves and potentially lead to structural failure.
Pool-block coping is typically 12 to 18 inches long and held in place with gravelly grout. Over time, particular areas of heavy traffic can wear the cement blocks down, particularly at the seams between blocks, as the grout does not provide the same abrasive resistance as the block. This will lead to divots along the coping, sometimes called “knuckling,” and should be repaired when the divots are approximately ¼-inch deep or more. Replacing worn blocks with new ones is the best approach, though grinding out the built-up material and patching the divot may provide a short-term solution until the new blocks can be procured.
Bicycles in skateparks can introduce additional maintenance concerns if not anticipated, as the pattern of wear from heavy bike tricks is different than skateboards. Bikes, especially those with hardened axle pegs, introduce an additional area of wear about 2 inches beyond the coping, and sometimes just under the coping, where the pegs often come into contact with the structure. These areas should be reinforced with steel plates.
Bikes also can chip the riding surface when riders jettison their bike during aerial moves. The riderless bikes can fall to the bottom of the structure where axles, handlebars, and other points deliver sharp impacts. Parks that provide for bicycle use should have the bottom of ramps or bowls carefully inspected for divots caused by this activity.
|
