Incidents at Lodi skate park prompt discussion
Recent incidents at Lodi’s skate park will be a major topic of discussion when the Parks and Recreation Commission meets next Tuesday. Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Director Jeff Hood says the incidents have led to increased maintenance and discouraged visitors from using the park.
According the Hood, parks workers have been threatened and park users intimidated by people using the park located on Ham Lane at Kofu Park. Hood said the discussion will be a first look at the problem and an opportunity to look at options for rectifying the situation.
Last month, a parks employee was threatened by a group at the park as he attempted to remove a car bench seat the users had placed in the park. The seat was eventually removed, and the park was closed immediately that day and the following day to ensure the employee’s safety.
The day after Thanksgiving, a family with two children were using the park when their daughter was knocked down inadvertently by another skate park user. When the father requested that the other users be careful around the younger children, the request was met with a flurry of obscene and aggressive language. The family ultimately left Kofu Park and went to a park in Elk Grove.
Sgt. Doug Chinn of the Lodi Police Department was called to the scene and said he ejected eight males from the park on suspicion of marijuana and alcohol use.
“They were very disrespectful towards me, calling me lots of derogatory names and making derogatory gestures,” Chinn said.
Hood said that marijuana and alcohol use, which is prohibited, is frequent at the parks, and littering also has become a huge problem.
“We need to get a handle on it,” Hood said.
Chinn said it’s mainly the same
group of people causing most of the problems. He said he’d much rather have families frequent the park rather than the group that normally frequents the park.
Hood has invited several skate park users to come out to the meeting and voice their concerns as well as suggest solutions.
“By in large, people have a positive experience, but I think we have too many times where it’s not a good experience,” Hood said. “What we’re experiencing with the skate park is not unique to Lodi. A lot of communities have these types of problems.”
Aaron Spears, an 18-year-old Tokay High student who frequents the park regularly to ride his skateboard, said that he has largely had positive experiences
when he visits the park.
“Yeah, there are little negative things that go on here that obviously get authorities out here, but it’s all welcoming here, it’s fun,” Spears said. He said he would be disappointed if the park was closed down due to the actions of a small group of users.
“It would send all of us out there. We wouldn’t have our own little haven here just to do our own thing. We’re just in our own little world. Instead of trying to get arrested, we’re just here having fun.”
Victor Covarrubias, a 16-year-old Tokay High student who also frequents the park daily, agreed with Spears and said his experiences at the park have been positive as well.
Covarrubias said when the park is
closed he and his friend have nothing to do and they are forced to ride their skateboards on the street at the risk of being ticketed. He said he and his friends sometimes pick up some of the trash to help with the littering problem but he is not sure how to minimize the marijuana and alcohol problem at the park.
Hood said the parks department is looking to see what other cities have done to deal with similar issues.
“The goal in the end is to make the skate park a place where people and families feel welcomed and not have to deal with wading through litter or smoke of various types or have their children be subjected to inebriated park visitors,” he said.