Skate advocates urge city to add small, low-cost 'skate spots' to neighborhood parks

A group of skateboard advocates and volunteers urged the Parks Board to add scalable skate features to neighborhood parks as part of an update to the Parks Master Plan, arguing the features would expand access for beginners and reduce the need for distant, large skate plazas.

Karen Della Vina, a skateboard community member and longtime Phoenix resident, told the board neighborhood skate areas would help beginners and make access to the sport more equitable. "Kids need this outlet. They need to escape the technology. They need to be outside," she said.

Volunteers with Cowtown Skateboards and Cat Town Skateboards described a low-cost retrofit approach. Trent Martin of Cowtown said the group can deliver small retrofit skate spots for as little as $20,000 per site. Scott McPherson suggested repurposing underused turf, desert-scape zones and stormwater retention areas with modular concrete features, saying hardscapes can reduce maintenance costs compared with turf.

Why it matters: Speakers argued that many of Phoenix’s large, well-known skate plazas sit on the outskirts of the city and are not accessible to youth in the urban core; neighborhood skate features, advocates said, would be affordable, quick to install and would activate underused park land.

Public-materials and offers to partner Speakers said they compiled a proposal PDF for the board and offered volunteer support and nonprofit partnerships to plan and maintain small skate features across the city. Cowtown representatives emphasized they are not petitioning to replace large plazas, but to add smaller, local options within neighborhood parks.

Ending: Board members and staff thanked the volunteers and advocates for their proposals; no formal action was taken at the meeting but speakers asked staff to consider the proposal as the master plan update proceeds.