UKC

For work, I've been asked to investigate the legality and liability issues surrounding skateboarders using our (Hallam Uni) grounds for skating. Whilst surfing the net for info, I came across this superb example of eloquent English, describing where to skate in York...

"Skateboarding Spots

A great skate spot is Sainsbury's carpark,When your at the zoo go up the stairs out side and go down the massive flatbank on the left ,but watch out for police and traffic warden guys. Across the street from Exit there is a taxi rank go passed the taxi's and you will see a massive flat bank,you gain lots of speed when you skate down,but dont go to the top cos there is always a Policeman
meet jono wright he is the best skater around. he will take u 4 a ride. and u will love it a lot. coz he know all the streat spots
near the cinma legde yousee every one there on a weekend (city screen)
I always hang around rowntree's park, I don't do much skating but its good to see everyone give it there best
There's an area of rowntrees (not the park) that is quite good for skating, just carry on passed the park without getting attacked by townies on their granny-basher bikes who think they can skate.
There are two in the York area, one by Sainsbuy's in town and the othe out towards Pockington - you have to get a bus for that one.
Hand rails: for all you hardcore skaters or scooterers out there, Argos 7 set - not bad a bit short tho. Argos 12 set - nice good for boardslides or noseslides. minster 4 set = very short but cool if u can do it. theres more i just cant remember
the skate park at roundtree park, the zoo (near Sainsbury's), CCP
this aint really a contribution but i think it would be a much more useful website if you didn't just repeat the same spots over and over again there's only so many times you can visit argos ,city screen, rowntrees, argos and city screen in one day.
Definetly go to cbc near the station. you can see it from the bar walls bigish ledges and afew smallish rails.Hard to sneak in and easily kicked off
theres brick banks near the multi storey car park in stonebow. various steepnesses. also some cool gaps then you can sneak into the carpark for flatground and sloped ledges. behind peacoks in acomb. spare plywood for ramps. nice ledge, 3 set
HAXBY SAFEWAY STEPS (4 SET) HAS BEEN KNOCKED DOWN BECOZ OF ALL THE TOWNS RECKING IT, BARKLYS BANK IS A GOOD PLACE TO GO THERE IS A 3 SET AND A 2 GOOD 4 STARTERS AND BEHEIND CO-OP IN HAXBY ASWELL THER IS GOOD FLAT SPACE AND A FEW BANKS
cpp in holgate, city screen, argos, the zoo skate park, riverside skatepark in rowntrees park
The Uni is a good place if you can outrun the porters, don't go if you can't jump stairs and grind, if you can its good, but the porters really don't like skaters, they'll stop at nothing to get you, so go in a big group of 5 or 6 so you can split up and give em the runabout.
The zoo! and B&Q is pretty good, there's a bit you can wallride, and you can ollie crates e.t.c, but warch out for cars and trolley people.
Selby has Abbey Leisure center with metal benches to grind on, Somerfields has curbs and gap jumps Selby District council building has some wicked stair sets, Walker's Bingo hall has a nice drop off, Selby High School has a bit of everything.
city screen if you wanna get better on the basic stuff
the zoo skate park under sainsburys. watch out for the parking attendants if you go into sainsburys though. If you see one it's probs best to walk watch out for angry touchy bladers
castle mills car park.watch out for the bird crap. the rydale building has a great 3 set long steps. cliffordds tower and just across the road is a circular block.
Muse gardens ( just mind the pigeons!) and down near Argos
some dudes go down near the statue just past rougier st. near the station, or theres muse gardens or southbank, or down by the river...
Near Cliffords Tower outside the museum.A few ickle skaters outside the City Screen too.
The New Earswick mini-ramp isnt there anymore
the city screen is becoming a bit of a skate spot these days
city screen cinema; cliffords tower; the tower block near the old skatepark
really fun brick banks (quite smooth). i've only visited york a couple times, so don't know the street names! any who fin exit, go towards a car sales court, via under cover bit near bookies+ snooker hall. turn right down a small street with a brick building on it and its round the corner! sorry its a bit sketchy!!
Whole of the university campus.
The entire town centre at 06:30am on a Saturday morning. Hit as many pretend homeless people as possible and give the bored coppers something to do.
Just up from Argos by river great grinding better steps (watch out for MOOSE!)The station underground rules.Bootham(posh nob)school.benches by the station near the famous leppar grave yard.good grinding.NEW OFFICES HAVE BEEN BUILT NEAR STATION (LOOK FOR BIG ARCH, NOT THE GUY)BIG SERCURITY BUT BIGGER DROPS (SICK)SKATE THEIR AT NIGHT UNLESS WITH MAYHEM MAD MAN RAMBO RUSS?!!!!!!
THe new indoor York sk8 park will be open in time for the end of the summer. More than likely it will be a small area with two very decent minis (one for learners, 3 foot max; the other for the thrashers, extention to 10 feet). The venue will NOT be in Clifton Moor but at the Sainsbury's multi storey car park on Fossbank. This will be initially open three days a week with the intention of being open full time by next year!
New Earswick mini-Ramp is good but crowded with 9 year old bladers.
The fountin at night is good not in the day though too many townies The minsters ok steps and ledges Watch out for the local nut case "MOOSE"
TRY LAW COURTS BEHIND CLIFFORDS TOWER, AND CASTLE MILLS SKATE PARK
Also watch out for new skate park developments happenning out at Clifton Industrial Estate. Trust me I have inside contacts at the York City Council planning department.
The Muesium Gardens
The university (a sixties concrete campus) is popular. Watch out for the geese, ducks and green shit, though.
Fishergate car-park on Mollits field: Benches, quarter pipes, fly offs etc. Also just over the fence is the Barbican Sports Centre with vert banks and concrete step things good for grinding and railsliding. Sometimes get kicked off at Sports Centre. Adams Hydraulics, Sainsburys, St Samsons Square, the Art Gallery, Arches, Theatre, Station. The list goes on and on. Arch Bishop's School, just off Hull Road: Banks all round playground with fairly smooth surface (very skatable). Also steps. Sometimes get kicked off. "

In reply to BrianT: why is that stupid

In reply to Cragdog al:

what a lovely sentiment this particular entry shares: "The entire town centre at 06:30am on a Saturday morning. Hit as many pretend homeless people as possible and give the bored coppers something to do."

In reply to Cragdog al: Read it, Cragdog. If some people think climbers are selfish and narrow-minded, try reading between the lines of this, to see the damage. Or, as my title suggests, despair that people are leaving school with such a terrible grasp of English.
I'm not anti-skater per se, but they do make a mess of a lot of civic structures and seem to think it's their right to do so.

In reply to BrianT:
When did York get a zoo? I don't remember there being one there when I lived in Leeds.

In reply to BrianT: leave them too it. its merely an extremely informal documentation of sick skate spots, much like the early days of climbing, kirkus etc used to sneak onto farmers property and climb routes not a lot different other than it being an urban sport.

In reply to graeme jackson: maybe it's arcane sk8speak for something else?

In reply to Cragdog al:

what does 'sick' mean in this context?

In reply to BrianT: Ahh that xplains it

In reply to CJD: sick= awesome

In reply to Cragdog al: I was just having a laff at the guy's terrible speling and gramer. "Legde". LOL!

In reply to CJD:

i think it means that these sk8tr spots are so jolly good that the author got so excited causing him to have some kind of apoplectic fit and can no longer communicate in english.

In reply to BrianT: I doubt any of the people who wrote that have left school - looks like the work of kids. Try not to tar all skaters with your wide brush. Here's a site my friends put together for Leeds. They have left school.

http://www.lsb.org.uk/

go to spot guide

In reply to BrianT:

Skaters only have any grounds to complain for being banned from skating in public areas if they don't have an equivalent area that is dedicated for them. Likewise, NIMBYs (not referring to you, Brian) have no right to complain about skaters destroying a grey, concrete, shopping-centre car-park if there is nowhere else to go.

It may be a cliche but skateboarding per se is not a crime and if you pass by-laws making it so in a certain area, there is a strong argument for you to provide alternative facilities where it will not be illegal. Obviously the situation is not black and white and some councils are better than others in realising the best way to stop skaters from damaging civic structures is to provide an skatepark or similar area that is more appealing to skate than anywhere else.

And I hope you're not suggesting that, based on the rubbish you found, all skaters are brainless morons who left school at 15 with no O-levels. The standard of grammar from some users of this site leads a lot to be desired but based on one poorly written post I wouldn't extrapolate to the fact that all climbers are thick. Besides, I have been known to hit a mini-ramp from time-to-time and I'm currently writing up a PhD in Medical Physics, so there. :P

In reply to Cragdog al:

my word, i suddenly feel incredibly old.

In reply to BrianT: U is just dissin' cos u is like, too jerryhatrick to be on yous board, like.

In reply to TimS:

You're almost certainly right Tim. Like I say, I'm not anti-skater. Some of my best friends are skaters. I used to be a skater myself! But I wouldn't grind on a polished black granite or marble wall, no matter how perfectly positioned it was.

In reply to Alun: Alun man! Chill out! No I'm not suggesting anything. I was just saying, "read this, it's funny". OK? And it is.

In reply to Alun:

>It may be a cliche but skateboarding per se is not a crime and if you pass by-laws making it so in a certain area, there is a strong argument for you to provide alternative facilities where it will not be illegal

It is not a crime, but to do damage to structures is.

I want somewhere to drive my car at speed, will the local council provide it, or somewhere to do downhill MTB in suffolk?

What people want cannot always be provided. There was a new skate park installed half a mile from me and it closed in three months due to vandalism and trouble makers.

In reply to Cragdog al:

Don't people say "phat" any more then?

In reply to BrianT:

only in Bratfud, it would seem...

In reply to BrianT:

Young people need adventure and excitement and a bit of rebelliousness is healthy. I can think of far worse things they could be doing and at least it proves that they are not all obsessed with safety so there is hope for society after all.
It reads as tongue in cheek to me anyway; much like a lot of stuff that I've seen on here.

It's just a pity they can't go climbing; but if they did any adults in the vicinity would have to run a mile or risk being suspected of predatory motives.

There isn't a similar site covering buidering is there? Just a thought...

In reply to sutty:
Aha! I knew someone would bite!

I don't deny that doing doing damage to structures could be considered illegal.

Your examples are bad ones, it is illegal to drive cars at speed because of the risk of injury to others, not because it damages any council structures; and there is no existing facility to do downhilling in Suffolk, to it is impossible to provide an alternative.


Yet a policy of using attractive bait (a decent skatepark) to lure people away from breaking the law is well-established - not just with regards to skating. It has worked in Swansea, where the once popular skating hangout in the middle of town is now left for grannies to enjoy in peace, because the council built two new skatespots nearby, and listened to criticism and improved them when skaters complained they were crap.


And this is my biggest gripe - your (reasonable) assumption that, because it was skatepark, that the vandalism and trouble makers were skaters, is probably wrong. The likely situation is that, in a half baked effort to please skaters, the council spent as small an amount as possible in building a rubbish park, with no consultation of local skaters/skateshops at all. As a result, all the serious skaters (i.e. the ones good enough to actually cause any damage to civic structures - the vast majority are not!) ignored it because it was rubbish, and so it became a quiet spot for chavs to cause mayhem.

Brian - no worries I wasn't having a go at you and I'm perfectly chilled, but I'm always sucker for the opportunity to try and disprove the commonly held belief that just because you have a skateboard in your hand are a troublemaker, drop-out and a miscreant!

In reply to Alun:

Skate park was designed with input from skaters and skateshop owner as they had nowhere to go. Now they have to travel to another that is three miles away and costs them money.

My example was not bad, it is illegal to speed on roads so they should provide for people to do it if they must provide for boarders, one legged lesbian dwarves etc.
It would be better if they could provide respite places for people between the ages of 20-60 instead of them having to go into hospital to give carers a rest. But then we do not live in a world where people can have all they want.

In reply to Alun:


I was a skater for a long time and still ride from time to time. I completely agree with Alun. Its not skaters who wreck the parks, its the druggies that hang out at parks as they think it is cool.

Here in Warminster, the council built a skate park to get us off of the streets. The park was shit and in the end was just a place for people to go do drugs. We informed to council of this and with our help they rearranged the park and added new stuff. Since then, the drugs are out and the skaters just wanting to express themselves are in.

The vast majorority of skaters are normal people. It's programs like Jackass and CKY (even though I like bits of them) and townies dressing in skater like clothes that get us a bad image.

I dont think it is really fair to tar everyone with the same brush with you "skaters are stupid" comment. People are good at different things. Einstein dropped out of school due to bad grades ... does that mean he was stupid?

Fred

In reply to sutty:

Your example has no relation what so ever with skateboarding. Speeding is neither big nor clever, and is dangerous to other people, hence it is illegal. Skateboarding gives kids something active to do. It is for that reason that every attempt should be made to cater for them.

Fred

In reply to BrianT:

i cant actually be bothered to read the rest of the thread.

i used to be a skater, and around here, the reason we skate public spots is because the council refuse to build any areas where we are allowed to skate.

In reply to BrianT: I've not read any of that, but got the gist of what you mean. I am a skateboarder; however I think you will find my spelling and grammar to be amongst the top order in the country.
As for skateboarders getting kicked off a lot, I wouldn't know about this because I only skate outside my house or at a skatepark, and that is rare.

In reply to sutty:

Then you concede that it is not they who were the ones causing the trouble. Your earlier statement "There was a new skate park installed half a mile from me and it closed in three months due to vandalism and trouble makers." to me implied that you thought that skaters were the ones responsible for the trouble. Perhaps I miscontrued it.

I should also note that any Tom, Dick or Harry can hold a skateboard but it takes a hell of a lot of practive to be good enough to be able to damage a marble ledge - and the people who have put in this practice are not the hooligans ruining the local skatepark - they have better things to do with their time (i.e. go skateboarding!)

In reply to Alun:


Completely agree. Skateboarding need hours and hours of practise to be good enough to do anything other than roll around. Real skaters are ones who are dedicated and can do tricks, they dont (as Alun said) sit around holding their board, suck on the wacky backy and shout insults at the general public.

Fred

In reply to FredMead: I was often considered to be crap, not only because i couldn't do anything more than fakie 180s but also because I would stop when there was danger to the general public. What kind of culture is that?

In reply to FredMead:

Speeding is like skateboarding dangerous and like skateboards damaging things, illegal. It is just a matter of degree and I used it to show you cannot have everything you want when you want it.
Try listening to the gardeners questiontime interview that was on the radio today. Right at the end the interviewee said that now people want their gardens perfect straight away and cannot work on it to get it correct over a few years. He died last week in his 90s and worked to get difficult plants to grow, something peopole do not want to wait for now. That is what you are like, one of the 'now' society and complain if you cannot have it.

Part of the problem with the skateboard park near me was the people who used it would not help to keep it clear of trouble makers, preferring to skate all the time and take no responsibility for it. Now they pay someone to do that indirectly. I asked the local councilor why they had not put a CCTV camera up as it adjoins the new swimming pool but got no real answer.

I have set up ramps, small ones, for the young lads to play on as they cannot make them solid themselves at 8-10 years old. They do need somewhere to play and our street is fairly safe being a sort of cul de sac. you just do not buy new cars as balls will bounce off them most of the time.

In reply to BrianT:

Some very backward sentiments being expressed on this thread. 'Board sport' retail sales are a critical component of the northern english economy, ranking just behind estate agent commissions in value terms. A secret government white paper has in fact called for the vacating of one or two otherwise unneeded mid-size towns to make additional recreational space for the sk8tr community. Sheffield is an obvious candidate.

In reply to FredMead:
>> I dont think it is really fair to tar everyone with the same brush with you "skaters are stupid" comment. People are good at different things. Einstein dropped out of school due to bad grades ... does that mean he was stupid?

Fred, did you READ what I've said? You and some other "ex-skaters" (like ME- I was a skater in the first wave in the mid '70's) are taking this far too seriously. "Sk8rs r stoopid" was intended as a tongue in cheek title, and the cut and pasted piece on the op was intended as a bit of gentle piss-taking. The language and general level of literacy is terrible and unintentionally amusing. I made a comment about skaters doing damage, which they do. Go to any civic open space, especially where there are attractive stone facings etc (try Millennium Square in Leeds) and you'll see beautifully cut edges cracked and chipped by skaters grinding on them. I like skaters, really I do. I like the culture and value it immensely, but some of them don't give a f*ck.

Anyway, lighten up.

In reply to BrianT:

Having been there and done that I can assure you that the damage caused to marble ledges by SKATEBOARDERS is minimal. However, I have seen many a BMX rider grind the same ledge and make sparks fly from his grind pegs. I am not trying to say that skating public buildings is a good idea, it certainly isnt as I found out on several occasions. It is a shame when "beaufully cut edges" get cracked and chipped, be it by skaters or BMXers, and coming from a family that has half of its roots in stonemasonry on Portland, I guess I agree with you that this is a form of vandlism.

In reply to sutty:

Skateboarding is NOTHING like speeding sutty! Come on! Speeding is unjustifiably dangerous. Skateboarding is dangerous, yes, but no more so than climbing.

I do however see where you are coming from, maybe a better example would have been climbing routes that are out of bounds due to birds nesting.

Anyway this is getting petty!

Cya!

Fred

In reply to FredMead:

So vandalismen is ok aslong as its done on a skateboard and there is no other place to do it?

but speeding is not ok even though there isnt any other places to do it?

In reply to FredMead:

Doing things like this are illegal on public roads and shpping car parks but sometimes carparks are given over to them when properly organised.

http://www.yorkmotorclub.co.uk/clubdays.htm

In reply to sutty:
That is an organisation. We are talking about a few teenages with skateboards.

In reply to mik:

Umm, no, I did not say that. Please re read.

In reply to FredMead:

Oh dear, wall talk and brick come to mind, bye.

In reply to BrianT:

Hey Brian. I think Fred, myself and others have accepted that you're relaxed about the whole thing.

Mostly, we're enjoying winding up Sutty