Skate park attendance low with new rules, registration

Attendance has been low since the creation of a membership program at the Audie Murphy Ranch Skate Park. File photo

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Problems have been minimal through the first few weeks since the Audie Murphy Ranch Skate Park re-opened, but attendance also has been very low, a city official said.

Jason Hendrix, community services supervisor, said that the city has sold only about 22 of the $10 annual membership fees to skaters under the new system. He is not aware of any non-residents who have signed up for the $100 fee – designed as a deterrent to young adults coming from other areas who have been suspected of inappropriate behavior in the past.

Two part-time city staff members now are on site at all times, checking membership cards and making sure skaters obey the new rules. The biggest complaint so far, Hendrix said, is the new requirement that all skaters wear helmets and safety pads.

“The biggest problem has been the pads,” Hendrix said. “We haven’t had any complaints about the actual registration process. I think people understand that’s necessary. It’s been about the pads and the bikes.

“We’re considering purchasing bulk safety equipment and checking those out or having a sales system. We’re leaning toward a rental system, and we can sanitize the equipment right after usage.”

Hendrix said there haven’t been more than four skaters in the park at any one time since it re-opened. He acknowledged that response has been slow and complaints are frequent from skaters on social media, especially Instagram. Problems experienced in the past have greatly decreased.

“In terms of some of the other problems, such as drinking and smoking, those have pretty much gone away,” he said. “We also really thank our Sheriff’s Department. They have been doing a little more extra control to make sure kids aren’t hopping the fence.”

Hendrix said the park is closely monitored on security cameras when no supervisors are on site, and that trespassing by way of climbing over the fence has been minimized.

“I tend to believe it’s going to be almost a waiting-out period,” he said. “They want to wait and see if we’re going to change the policy. Our staff has done a tremendous job of zero tolerance on the new guidelines.”