ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, September 10, 1996 TAG: 9609100022
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: MARK CLOTHIER STAFF WRITER
Tina Sowers is what you might call a hands-on parent.
A while back her boys, 17-year-old Tony and 11-year-old David, wanted to play soccer, so Sowers helped coach their teams. She will again this fall.
Back then, there weren't many soccer fields where Blacksburg's youth league teams could play. "Now there's fields all over," Sowers said.
Sixteen to be exact. The town also has 15 playgrounds, nine tennis courts, nine baseball/softball fields, eight horseshoe pits, seven picnic shelters, three gyms, two swimming pools, one golf course and miles of hiking and biking trails.
What's missing from that list, Sowers says, is a place for her sons to skateboard. So she's set out to find such a place for her children and others.
Last week, Sowers, with help from some 15 skateboarders and a handful of parents, presented their case at the Blacksburg Recreation Advisory Board's afternoon meeting. The board presents a five-year construction plan to Town Council in early October.
"Basketball, tennis, baseball, football, every sport has a place," Sowers said. "All we're looking for is a slab of concrete and a fence."
Sowers has a spot next to the town's recreation department on Patrick Henry Drive in mind. The town recently bought 61/2 acres on which they plan to expand parking at the recreation center, add a few bathrooms and relocate administrative offices.
She's hoping the town also might add a 4-inch thick, 70-foot by 140-foot slab of concrete and a 6-foot high fence.
Parks and Recreation Director Bill Winfrey said the board will hold a meeting later this month to discuss Sower's idea. The five members of the nine-person board who attended Wednesday's meeting favored the idea, he said.
What's needed, Winfrey said, are specifics: how much it would it cost, who would pay for it and a timeline for the project.
"We need to sit down and look at a number of things, including how this would affect neighbors in terms of noise," he said. "We're going to respond to the citizens' request, and we'll see if we can do it."
In 1995, prompted by complaints from downtown merchants and residents, Town Council outlawed skateboarding in an area bordered by Turner, Otey, Miller and Church streets. Since then, the town has given between 15 and 20 tickets for illegal skateboarding, according to Blacksburg Police Chief William Brown.
Representatives of the Blacksburg and Virginia Tech police departments spoke at last week's recreation committee meeting.
"We're trying to build positive relationships with the youth, and enforcing this law pits us against kids," Brown said.
"They view our enforcement as harassment, and we want to work to bridge that gap. Unofficially, there's a need for a facility," he said. "We're not pushing for it, we just came to make you aware of the problems we're experiencing."
In case the town bites, Sowers has solicited rough estimates for the fence - $3,300 - and the slab of concrete - $13,000. She said she's also gathered 375 signatures of support, volunteer labor and material from parents and from the manager of The Greenhouse, a 3-year-old Blacksburg skateboarding/snowboarding shop.
"We're not just walking in there asking for everything," Sowers said. "We're willing to help. This is a community problem, and this is a community solution."
Greenhouse manager Lee Johnson said he already owns about half the ramps and assorted props needed for the park and is willing to help raise money to pay for the rest. He said the skateboarders would be willing to settle for a corner of a parking lot, two tennis courts or a basketball court. "Any smooth, level concrete or asphalt surface will work fine," he said.
"It just has to be recognized as a legitimate sport," Johnson said. "A good number of people here in the area regularly participate in it, but unfortunately it's been declared illegal and no other facility has been provided where people can enjoy it."
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM/Staff. A sign near downtown Blacksburg warns ofby CNBtown ordinance regulating skateboards, roller blades and bikes.
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