NY Times Article

Bill Helene recently set the New York Times straight on what makes a challenging and engaging skatepark...

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The question recently posed by a skatepark advocate in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, was: Are a skatepark and a playground a good mix?

The question sparked a flurry of discussion. Some felt that skateparks and playgrounds were a good mix. Others felt that playgrounds were great but attracted the wrong kind of neighbor.

Those who favored adjacent playgrounds had a lot to say. Some SPS contributors felt that the type of adjacent activity was not as important as the fact that "sanctioned" activity was actually happening nearby. In other words, any kind of adjacent activity was valuable for creating a community space. The skatepark and playground were mutually beneficial; skateboarding activity and playground activity both contributing to an active space.

On the other hand there were some who felt playgrounds build too close to the skateboarding areas encouraged younger children to run and play on the skatepark structures, creating a hazard for skaters (and vice versa). In this view, there should be some amount of distance or buffer between the two spaces.