BRATTLEBORO — I have been skateboarding for 12 years. I grew up in a town in northeast Florida that had a mindset toward skateboarding that was similar to Brattleboro's: laws banning skateboarding on public property, no public skatepark, etc.
When it was determined that a public skatepark would be built within a quasi-residential, mixed-used recreation park, a similar backlash ensued.
All of the same arguments that we've heard lately in Brattleboro were brought about: noise issues, drug use, vandalism, declining property values, and the fear of limiting or destroying the value and usability of the nearby playground, soccer, and baseball fields (but never the basketball court).
After the park was built, all of the fear quickly went away. My father, who lived across the street, never saw the value of his property decline. Nobody followed through with boycotts; the mixed-use recreation park never burnt to the ground.
There were even apologies given, after time had passed, from key members of the opposition group, for getting in the way of something that proved to be an overwhelming success.
I spent the majority of my free time at that skatepark for over seven years. In that time, I learned more about respect, patience, interpersonal relationships, and myself than any other activity, institution, or pastime that I've had a part in.
You don't get those kind of lessons from hiding your skateboard from police officers when they drive by on the street, or from skating only in an area where your interactions with others is limited to kids who are 18 years old and younger, inexperienced both in life and on a skateboard.
I understand the fear of change and the unknown. I also know the importance of taking risks.
* * *
I am assuming that the Selectboard understood this potential also when it, the town School Board, and the Development Review Board all unanimously approved the Crowell Lot skatepark project.
I am not asking or encouraging the Selectboard not to make concessions or compromises with those who oppose the skatepark; the mediation with Barry Adams and BASIC proved to be beneficial to everyone and helped make this project more well rounded and better for everyone involved. More of this dialogue should take place.
I am encouraging board members to trust their previously felt and informed judgment that the Crowell Lot is the best spot for a public skatepark based on its location, mixed-use recreational activities, and its positive and healthy atmosphere.
As the Selectboard has witnessed, most of the ideal locations for a skatepark would be met with a backlash, and if it concedes to the Save Our Park Coalition, there will be no good reason for board members not to concede to the next group that will come along once a new site is determined.
There are only two ways to get around this.
The park could be built in a section of town that nobody cares about. It would have to be in an area that is already plagued with vandalism, drug use, and vacant buildings, an area where a skatepark would seem like the least of the problems.
On one hand, no one would complain. On the other hand, the skaters and non-skaters who would go there would have absolutely no pressure from the community as a whole to treat the area with respect. It would be a product of its surroundings. It would fail.
The other choice is to follow through with the board's previous, informed decision to support the project at the Crowell Lot.
Yes, it will be unpopular with some at first, but it's the board's job to not only follow through with commitments but also to lead; to show the town that, yes, this is a good decision that will benefit the community as a whole.
It's scary taking risks. But once you're informed enough to jump in and get to the other side, an almost childlike embarrassment bubbles up. The cataclysmic apocalypse never happens, which should come as no surprise.
So to the Selectboard: Please do not reverse your support for the skatepark at Crowell Lot. In my town in Florida, all signs pointed to a smooth landing. You just couldn't see the strip due to cloud coverage.