Construction Imminent on City's First Skate Park
Clare Curley, Berkeley Voice, October 19, 2000

Construction Imminent on City's First Skate Park: West Berkeley Site of Toxic-material Cleanup Will Be Used to House the Skating Facility and Two Soccer Fields

A 5-foot-deep hole in the ground surrounded by weeds and a chain- link fence at Harrison and Fifth streets hardly hints that Berkeley's first skate park will soon take over the small plot of land.

For nearly a year, the site has had more the appearance of an abandoned vegetable garden than an extreme-sport attraction. Small signs hang from the fence warning people that entering the site could be hazardous to their health.

Not for long, though.

Mark Mennucci, who is overseeing the development of a new park for skateboarders and in-line skaters, says he is poised to give the nod for construction to begin.

Named after Gabe Catalfo, a sports-minded Berkeley teen who died of leukemia in 1998, the structure should be completed by spring. Along with two large soccer fields and a field house, the whole area will form what is known as Harrison Park.

The project was halted last year when the city discovered chromium-6, a toxic substance, in the ground at the site.

"It's been a huge learning curve for the city in terms of how we track these plumes that are underground," said city Parks Recreation and Waterfront Director Lisa Caronna.

The city hauled off a lot of soil and treated the groundwater before releasing it safely into the sewer system.

Since then, the hole where the structure will sit has been filled with three feet of rock so groundwater won't percolate to the surface.

The $385,000 project is being funded by a Proposition 12 grant, but part of the skate park, about 20 percent, will be put on hold until more money can be raised. Skaters hope materials and money will be donated to finish the project.

"We are scaling back slightly" from the original design, said Caronna, The park is still comprised of 18,000 square feet, but some of that area will be flatter.

The redesign mainly changed the depth, not the shape, leaving plans for various banks, bowls and a host of other attractions ideal for rolling through or hopping over.

Much of the action at the park will be below surface level, with only about three feet elevated.

Though made from concrete, French says the ground will actually be safer than asphalt, which is rougher on the skin. A track with obstacles will also circle the outside so skaters can do sidewalk-style tricks.

It could also prevent injuries.

"Right now kids are skateboarding in people's driveways and getting towed behind buses, (or going up any) wall with a little bit of a bank," said Nathan French, a permit specialist who works for the city.

The park, bounded by Fifth, Harrison, and Fourth streets and Codornices Creek, is on a 6-acre parcel the city bought in 1999 from UC Berkeley for almost $3 million.

The plan was spawned five years ago when the mother of a skateboarder refused to pay a ticket her son had received. She said she would pay it when he had somewhere in the city to skate.

The city responded by enlisting a group of local skateboarders to help with the design phases of a skate park. Two years ago they sat down with flour, water and paste and created little structures of what they envisioned. Architect Mike McIntyre of Site Design Group used their concept when creating his proposal.

"Most of what you'll see (from the street) is a bunch of floating helmets," said French, who helped get local input during the project's planning phase.

Yet some environmental activists still say the project -- surrounded by factories, the freeway and train tracks -- is environmentally unsafe.

"The air quality there is only going to get worse," said L A Wood, who fought the project even before chromium 6 particles were discovered in the air and ground. "I'm also concerned about heavy (metal) particles coming out of the stacks nearby."

His solution? Relocate it.

Part of the condition of the project's EIR was that the city would conduct ongoing pollution studies, so the possibility of stalling the project sometime in the future still remains.

But skateboarders, who aren't known to shy away from danger may not be fazed by their surroundings, French, a UC Berkeley graduate in environmental planning, thinks the environmental threat has been overstated.

He pointed out that because of the way many cities are laid out, playing fields tend to be located next to highways in less-than-pristine areas.

The air surrounding the new park is a concern, he admitted. But, compared to the drainage ditches and pipe outlets he's crawled around in pursuing his sport, he views the location as the best available option.