Final Story

A few trees, some patches of grass and dirt, and a “SERVICE VEHICLES ONLY” sign are most of what sits in the lot on the corner of San Jose and Ocean avenues. Next year, this tucked-away corner of Balboa Park will be the location for San Francisco’s fourth skate park.

For months, dozens of residents have been discussing plans for the future of the park at meetings with the Trust For Public Land, a national nonprofit organization that deals with improving parks and preserving green space within them.

“Skate parks bring skaters out of the streets and into the park,” said Yohan Mangsy, a student at San Francisco City College, located across the freeway from Balboa Park. Mangsy, who has been skateboarding for 7 years, says less property damage to walls and ledges are reduced as a direct effect of having skate parks. Less security guards are beat up by skaters and vice versa, he said.

One concerned resident, Pat Ward, said that a skate park might bring more crime into the area and serve as a hub for drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana.

A skatepark brings skaters young and old alike, where in some cases “little kids grow up too fast,” said Mangsy.

“Have you seen the skate park at 25^th and Portrero,” asked Christopher Campbell, who rode his skateboard to the TPL meeting, defending the positive aspects of having a skate park. “It turned that neighborhood around,” and gave the kids something to do, he said.

However, Mangsy said that sometimes Norteños pick apples from the apple tree next to the Portrero skate park and throw them at the skaters. The mess of apples also makes the ground dangerously slippery, he said.

Having the highest density of children in San Francisco, Excelsior residents pushed for safe entrances leading into the park. They agreed that entrances should be built as far away from the intersection as possible and a fence keeps skaters from rolling into and out of the park from the crosswalks. The skate park is being built on the corner of one of the area’s busiest intersections, according to an SFMTA pedestrian and bike traffic study.

It will cost between $250,000 and $400,000 to build the skate park.

Companies including PG&E, Levi’s and GAP have matched the $1 million that TPL has raised and will match $4 million if they can raise it. However, the fund has hardly passed the $2.5 million mark.

These Balboa Park Improvements meetings allow the community to have input in deciding how this money will be spent.

Other funding comes from a $75,000 Community Challenge grand that goes towards park development only if ADA accessible pathways are constructed at the entrances.

Mike Neumann, principal of Neumann Construction Management, said that drawing plans would occur in the winter and bidding in March. Construction would begin three months after the lowest bidder is chosen, and residents can expect six to eight months before the project is complete, he said.

However, the city, not the community, will chose which companies to contract for everything between concrete and labor, said Jacob Gilchrist, a TPL landscape director.

Other plans for the Balboa Park’s renovation include a new play area, including 14-foot-tall swings, new play and picnic areas, and lighting improvement.

The fund will be distributed according to what the community prioritizes, said Gilchrist.