Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Marks Grand Opening of Peck Park Skatepark

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Marks Grand Opening of Peck Park Skatepark

    Skaters, elected officials and community members celebrated the opening of San Pedro’s new skatepark with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 15.
Skaters have already been enjoying the Peck Park skatepark since its completion, squeezing through or climbing over the surrounding fence. This pushed the city to open the skatepark earlier than they had initially planned.
    The $850,000 skatepark, was built to take the place of the Channel Street skatepark, which was closed ahead of pending expansion of the 110 Freeway overhead. Peck Park’s is the 24th skatepark to open in Los Angeles, with five more under construction. Channel Street skatepark founder and instrumental player in making the Peck Park skatepark happen, Andy Harris, was able to puff out his chest with an extra sense of pride at the ceremony.
    “Parks like this don’t get built in every city,” Harris said. “And, this park here is top notch, world class. You’ve got yourself a tourist attraction here.”
    The new skatepark looked like a very large swimming pool without water. Within it, there was a smaller about 7-feet deep bowl. Some skated the new bowl while others just relaxed and enjoyed the scene.
     “To see the excitement, the energy, to see kids young and old enjoying their new skatepark is incredible,” Councilman Joe Buscaino said.
    Buscaino thanked San Pedro for supporting the building of the skatepark, despite some of the negative stigma connected to skaters.
“Skateboarding has had a lot of ups and downs in its popularity and how it’s viewed by our culture,” Buscaino said. “Skaters have often been vilified and called anarchists… Well... today, in San Pedro, we welcome the skateboard community.
“Whether you call skateboarding a sport, or your art, or you don’t call it anything at all, we’re here today because there’s enough people that said yes to skateboarding in San Pedro.”
Buscaino pleaded with skaters to help take care of the park and to report others that would vandalize it with graffiti. In addition, Harris and his team pledged to keep the skate park free of graffiti using the paint supplies provided by the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks.