Manana skate park to open this summer
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
A skate park in Manana is on pace to open this summer, becoming the first skateboarding facility in the Pearl City area.
The $300,000 facility will join a growing inventory of city skate parks on O'ahu and will open to expectations of high use because of its central location and innovative design.
As part of Manana Community Park, the 10,000-square-foot skate facility will feature a combination of ramps and street-style obstacles.
"It's got something for everybody," said Chad Hiyakumoto, project consultant and owner of APB Aala Park Boardshop. "It's a different kind of set-up than the other parks."
Other city skate parks have been plagued by problems, including graffiti, after-hours visitors, trash and rowdy users. Pearl City residents are raising concerns over those and other issues.
"I've heard all kinds of horror stories," said Al Fukushima, Pearl City Neighborhood Board chairman, referring to damage done to skate parks even before they're completed. "I don't want to go back and fix all the things that get broken before the park opens."
Aside from the standard obstacles — ramps and rails — the Manana skate park will have subtle differences that will set the facility apart from others.
Instead of a rail that has a flat-ground landing, for example, it ends on a sloping bank to make the transition more challenging.
"It's smaller, too, so it's less intimidating," Hiyakumoto said. "The form is more free-flowing, not just a half-pipe. ... The park can accommodate different levels of skating, from beginning to expert. I hope it works out."
The completion of the skate park will finish the second phase of the 8-acre Manana Community Park. The first phase, which included multipurpose fields for soccer and softball and a youth center, was completed last year. The second and final phase also adds restrooms, more parking and basketball and volleyball courts to the park.
The cost to build the skate park, estimated at more than $300,000, is part of Pearl City Vision Team money from the city.
For decades skateboarders had no place to practice their sport, using stairs, park benches and street curbs instead.
They have been chased out of malls and off sidewalks by police and business owners who have accused them of causing a nuisance and damaging property.
The solution has been for communities to build skate parks, a designated area for skateboarders to work on ollie grabs and frontside flips.
But area residents worry about the safety of users and the upkeep of the facility, including repairs from use and vandalism.
The Pearl City Neighborhood Board plans to set up a task force to look at these issues before the skate park opens.
"I have very strong feelings about what will happen once the facility opens," said Fukushima.
He's worried about skateboarders sneaking into the facility before the park is completed — which is what happened in Keolu, Mililani and Hawai'i Kai.
Officials said the contractor bears the liability until it hands the park over to the city.
Fukushima is recommending some sort of security or citizen patrol to stop after-hours trespassers at the park.
The skate park was designed with the input of skateboarders, said Lorrin Matsunaga, principal at Urban Works Inc., architect for the entire park.
They have incorporated aspects of other skate parks on O'ahu, but added different obstacles to make it unique, he said.
"We're lucky because we were able to learn from the others," Matsunaga said.
Reach Catherine E. Toth at 535-8103 or ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.
