Team effort cuts cost of Kahuku skatepark
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
KAHUKU — On Saturday, finishing touches will be put on a skateboard park that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars less than comparable facilities, thanks to a collaborative effort of government and the private sector, including nonprofit groups and the community.
• What: Dedication ceremony for Kahuku skatepark. Festivities will include a safety clinic and free helmets to the first 25 skateboarders who participate. • When: 11 a.m. March 29 • Where: Kahuku District Park
"Off the streets and into the parks" is the theme of the effort begun two years ago in response to the rising number of skate-related injuries and a lack of public facilities to keep up with the increasing popularity of recreational skateboarding, said Cliff Cisco, senior vice president of the Hawaii Medical Service Association.
Dedication set
The project at Kahuku District Park, intended to help North Shore at-risk youths, was planned and carried through by HMSA, which also donated $25,000 in equipment for the skatepark, Cisco said.
The city provided a 5,000-square-foot concrete slab where customized skatepark obstacles will be installed.
Some city projects — including skateparks — have been delayed in recent months because of a budget shortfall. But the Kahuku community will get its long-awaited skatepark because of the cooperative nature of the project.
The facility is expected to get skaters off the streets and school campuses.
The Kahuku facility is smaller than other city-built skateparks that cost from $226,000 for a 7,500-square-foot design to $600,000 for a 15,000-square-foot rink.
Project participants include the city, the Association of Skateboarders in Hawaii, the state Department of Health, Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition, Coast Recreation and the Kahuku Community Association.
"We hope (this donation) will give young people a safe environment for skateboarding and provide a positive alternative to sedentary activities, Cisco said. "We hope it will promote an increase in physical activity that is both fun and healthy."
The skatepark was designed by Chuck Mitsui, president of the nonprofit skateboarders association, and Coast Recreation, a business that is supplying the customized obstacles.
The cost-effective design is ideal for intermediate skaters, said Mitsui, who has designed numerous skateparks islandwide. Kahuku skaters were consulted about their needs, Mitsui added.
"I'm happy to say the design is both functional and fun, making maximum use of the space available," he said.
Volunteers will install six obstacles made of lightweight material that is resistant to damage and easy to work with, said Donald Hurlbut with the Kahuku Community Association.
The obstacles will include a quarter-pipe, launch box, banked hip, skate picnic table, kicker ramp and skate bench.
Kahuku was lucky to receive the HMSA donation because another plan to build a skatepark stalled as the city began to feel the budget crunch, Hurlbut said. The community wanted a park to get children off the streets and campuses where skaters are damaging property, he said.
"But the best part of this is the community is donating in-kind services," Hurlbut said. Residents, the city and Brigham Young University-Hawai'i are all helping out, he said.
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
