CHANDLER

 

UPDATE 9-5-07

Chandler 3BC Captain Pat Blackburn met recently with Mickey Ohland, Chandler Parks Planning Superintendent, and Mickey told him that things are going so well at the Chandler Bike Park that they (the city) don't even really think about it.  So thank you to everyone for just riding and respecting the park and not doing any stupid shit there, and keep it up.  Also, thanks again to the City of Chandler for making such a sick park and running it well.  Every time I've ridden there I've had a great time, and, similar to what Mickey said, I don't even think about the city when I'm there.  When they're doing a good job, there's no need to think about them.

 

UPDATE 5-15-07

The Chandler Bike Park Grand Opening on Cinco de Mayo was a damn great time.  About 300 to 400 riders came out and broke the new park in right proper-like.  Chandler didn’t have any money to bring in pros from out of state for the demo, but luckily we got a couple anyways.  John Dale from Redendo.com had flown in A.J. Anaya from Denver, Colorado for a contest in Hermosillo, and he stayed in AZ long enough afterwards to come to the Chandler opening with John.  Mike Saavedra from Riverside, California heard about the opening and came out on his own dime.  I want to thank both these guys for coming out and throwing down, because the kids really appreciated seeing some shredders that they don’t already see riding all the time.  I’d also like to thank A.J. and Mike for graciously allowing themselves to be interviewed for my “bikes in Arizona skateparks movement” documentary as well.  They were both psyched on the effort the riders had put forth here in getting Chandler to build the bikepark.  Both of them also separately said they thought this was an extremely well-designed park, and Hoffman could easily hold a CFB here without even bringing in any extra ramps.   

At the Chandler Bikepark Grand Opening and afterwards, a few different people were trying to take credit for getting Chandler to build their sick bike park.  I was going to do a whole history of who was directly involved, but I decided against it.  If you really care to know specifics of the history, you’ve got plenty of good references to research between the Chandler section of the 3BC page, the Chandler Public Record, and the multiple articles in The Chandler Connection, the East Valley Tribune, the Ocotillo News, and the Arizona Republic.  The fact of the matter is, as I’ve said on here many times, that anyone who helped push for places to ride, whether in Tucson, Flagstaff, Prescott, Glendale, or anywhere else in Arizona, can share credit for getting the Chandler Bike Park built.  This is a movement.  No city has made isolated decisions in this thing.  Chandler talked to Scottsdale who talked to Glendale who talked to Mesa who talked to Flagstaff who talked to Tempe, etc….   We put pressure on many cities at the same time starting in 2002, and almost all of those cities have responded by providing bmx riders with places to ride.  If you attended council meetings in your area, wrote letters, went to protests, talked to newspapers and all of that, you share in the credit for getting the Chandler Bikepark built.   

There is someone, however, who cannot take credit for these new BMX-friendly parks because soon after he started helping with the movement, he turned and started working against it.  In 2002, KC Badger wrote a couple letters to city councilmen, and even went to meetings and protests here or there.  Sometime in the next couple years, though, he decided it wasn’t “cool” to keep going to meetings and keep pushing until we got places to ride.  He said on my message board that the cities would never provide places for bmx riders, and that I was doing more harm than good by pushing on the cities until we got equal treatment along with the skaters and inline skaters.  He criticized this movement to anyone who would listen to him in Arizona and outside of Arizona.  KC’s lies and loaded words did keep a lot of kids from coming out to meetings and protests when we really needed them (like the McDowell Mountain Ranch Skatepark community input meeting).  He was able to slow down our momentum.  Obviously, it didn’t hurt us too bad, with Mesa, Chandler, and Fountain Hills opening their parks recently, and with Glendale and Tempe opening their parks in the near future.    Now that, through much hard work, we’ve secured places that he can ride freely, he acts as if he was entitled to them, as if we owed him that.  He’s got the typical spoiled, elitist, rich kid attitude (Read:  Paris Hilton on a bike.)  I don’t believe he’ll ever admit he was wrong in saying what he said, no matter how many bike-friendly concrete parks are built in Arizona.  He’ll just get to reap the benefits of all our hard work.   

Another person who hurt us to a degree was Ryan Sher (Screech).  Along with KC, he had been talking a bunch of bullshit about the 3BC and how we were allegedly doing everything wrong to anybody in or out of Arizona who would listen.  He told me at the Fort contest in November of 2005 that I was making things worse rather than better by the way I was running the 3BC, and we’d never get places to ride.  When I told him that we’d have multiple parks here open to bikes within a year and a half, he laughed in my face.  Be sure to remember that when you’re thinking about spending any of your money on his Subrosa shit.  And yes I do mean shit.        

But all this is fine.  Tons of riders that never lifted a finger or weren’t even riding bmx when all this was going on will benefit, and you know what?  They’re welcome to it.  All I’d like to see is that they appreciate what we’ve sacrificed to get these places, because in the end, we did get the goddamn job done!  I don’t need a plaque from Chandler commemorating my work on getting the Chandler Bike Park.  My reward is having a well-designed place to ride with other riders that doesn’t charge and doesn’t have session times and isn’t sequestered off to certain elite pros only.      

Here's an article from the East Valley Tribune that ran on May 6th: 

Riders at new Chandler bike park go with ‘flow’

Jill Redhage, Tribune

How to make dry concrete flow. That was one of the primary design goals of Chandler’s new BMX bike park at Espee Park.

By all accounts on Saturday during the Grind Park’s grand opening, “flow” was achieved. Hundreds of BMX bikers, ages 5 to 45, graced its concrete hips, quarter pipes and boxes.

Professionals kicked off the event at 8:30 a.m. with demonstrations, and city leaders and park planners cut the ribbon at 10 a.m. at the facility at Knox Road and Hamilton Street.

By 1 p.m., the 21,500 feet of undulating, brushed concrete swarmed with small, expensive bikes.

Riders raved about the design.

“It’s really smooth and fun,” said Matt Nothnagle, a sixthgrader at Hartford Elementary School in Chandler. “Smoother than most bike parks.”

“You’ve ridden two bike parks!” chided a voice nearby — Matt’s 14-year-old brother, Jimmy.

Dakota Moore and Aidan Schermerhorn, both 12, of Chandler, said they were happy the park was reserved just for bikers.

But most wished the park also could be used by skaters and skateboarders.

“After getting kicked out of skate parks, we know how it feels,” said Jason Ryan, a filmmaker and president of the Bike, Blade and Board Coalition.

But the 35-year-old Tempe resident praised city planners for implementing the majority of the suggestions he and other bikers gave them.

Ryan recommended planners include a lot of transition areas such as curves, which help bikers carry their speed without interrupting their lines of travel. The design also focused on depth and included large, rectangular boxes, which Ryan said are rare in skate and bike parks.

Riders on Saturday complained of the crowds but said they expected them to thin out over time.

Young riders wheeled their way from as far away as downtown Scottsdale to get the pros’ autographs and try out the slopes.

The park also features a pagoda with picnic tables, where bikers escaped from the sun and rehydrated.

Summer hours are 6:30 a.m. to 10:15 p.m. In the winter, the park will open at 9 a.m.

 

 ON A ROLL: Riders cruise over a double roller during the opening of the bike park Saturday in Chandler’s Espee Park.

Thomas Boggan, Tribune

And here's a link to an Arizona Republic article about the grand opening:

http://www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/0505bikes0506.html

Mickey Ohland asked me to get the word out that the Chandler Bike Park closes at 10:15pm.  I know the press release for the grand opening said it closes at 10:30pm, and so does the city website, but the signs at the park say 10:15pm closing.  I asked Mickey to change the city's site so there's no confusion, and I'm sure he will.  Mickey also requested that everyone be respectful of the park rangers when they come to close the park.  I couldn't agree more.  If you can't find time in your day to get a decent session in the park, then you need to change your work or school or whatever schedule.  That's just the kind of park this is.  It's worth changing your life around for it.

 

UPDATE 4-29-07

Here's a couple articles about the Chandler Bike Park, which opens at 8:30 AM this Saturday, May 5th.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/87515

http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/0407CR-bikeparkinside0404Z14.html

 

UPDATE 4-18-07

I may as well toss up the rest of the Chandler Bike Park (AKA Chandler BMX Park) pics that our Chandler 3BC Captain Pat Blackburn took on his way to the track yesterday. 

 

                          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SDG did a pretty damn good job at using the riders' input on the park.  I don't think anybody's gonna claim responsibility for this heah boomerang ledge, though.

Opens MAY 5th!!!

 

UPDATE 3-30-07

Chandler Bike Park at Espee Park

In 2005, after many public requests, the Chandler City Council approved $750,000 to design and build a 25,000-square-foot Bike Grind facility. This will be the first BMX/Freestyle bike-only public facility in the State, and it will be located at Chandler's Espee Park at 450 E. Knox Rd.

BMX/freestyle biking is a relatively new sport that continues to gain popularity. This 25,000 square foot facility will give the youth in Chandler an alternative place to business districts and school grounds to release their energy, learn their sport, grow with their accomplishments and develop a camaraderie with fellow BMX/freestyle bikers. This project was developed with considerations for safety, to be economically feasible, and to not adversely impact any nearby residents. This facility will incorporate features that allow the users of different levels of ability to be challenged.

The Chandler Bike Grind Park was designed by Site Design Group, Inc., which designed and built the Chandler Skatepark at the Snedigar Sportplex in 2000.

The Chandler Bike Park is located at 450 E. Knox Rd.

For more information on the Chandler Bike Park, call (480) 782-2727.

 

Once again, the Bike, Blade and Board Coalition would like to thank Chandler for listening to bike riders and providing them a place to ride.  Those are some great hours of operation, too!  We are encouraging Chandler to form a citizen's committee that meets with parks' staff on the operation of the bikepark every two months or so to discuss any issues.  Jim McCasland, Prescott's Parks and Rec director has formed a committee like this, and he is convinced that it has really helped to resolve problems by getting buy-in from the users. 

 

UPDATE 1-8-07

I'm happy to say that Chandler is well on their way to completing the Chandler Bike Park.  Construction is going at top speed, and coping is hung, rebar is in place, and I'm guessing concrete will be poured any week now.  Big thanks to Chandler for keeping this construction rolling right along.  I'll try to get photos up as soon as I can.

 

UPDATE 10-30-06

It's finally going to happen, and it's about time, eh?  After a very unhealthy delay in the Chandler BMX park development due to a flood control survey that should have been finished months ago, the groundbreaking will take place.  On Monday, November 6th, at 5pm, Chandler will officially break ground on the Chandler BMX park, located at 450 E. Knox Road at Espee Park.  Don't try to Mapquest Espee Park, because it's not on there.  Just go to Knox Road and head east of Arizona Ave. and there it is.

 

UPDATE 2-3-06

The Chandler Bike Park design is finalized, and here it is, in all its glory.

They're saying January '07 for an opening.  Good times.  Really good times.

 

UPDATE 1-21-06

Here's some New Year news to be happy about:  Chandler Parks and Rec will be holding a meeting to present their (basically) finalized Chandler Bike Park design to the community.  It will be in the Senior Center (across the courtyard from the downtown library) on Tuesday, Jan. 24th at 6 pm.  Here's a sneaky peek:

I likes.  I likes a lot.

Arizona Republic article

For the record:  Bikes DO NOT have to have "the right pitch and arc on the ramps" they ride as SDG's Lisa Saylan's grossly uninformed opinion would indicate.  Bikes can ride on anything!  Bmx trick riding began at the same time that skateboard "trick riding" began in the early '70's in swimming pools.  These pools weren't designed to accomodate this or that size of wheel, they were designed to hold water!

Case in point:  For years, pro bmx riders and pro skateboarders have competed at the highest levels on the EXACT SAME ramp courses in the most prestigious annual competition in the world, the X Games, and in countless other competitions as well. 

And while it is ideal that skateboarders and bmx riders have plenty of room to maneuver, it is NOT "needed".

 

UPDATE 10-31-05

I just attended a design meeting for the Chandler BMX park, and here are what SDG has drawn up:

 

The above two are Concept B.

 

 

These two are Concept A.  During the meeting, the riders were leaning heavily towards Concept B with a few of Concept A's features.  It's going to be really, really good.  Realistically speaking, the Chandler BMX park is still about a year out, but it will be well worth the wait.

 

UPDATE 7-14-05

Pat Blackburn found out that Chandler has picked a site for the Chandler Bike Park.  It will be located at Espee Park (formerly Vagabond Park), near Knox and Country Club. 

 

UPDATE 4-12-05

This article appeared in the East Valley Tribune last Tuesday:

Chandler bike-only park gets closer

By Hayley Ringle, Tribune

April 5, 2005
Chandler could be one of the first cities in the country to build a public, concrete bike-only facility.

 

"If they get it built in time," said Lisa Saylan, director of marketing for Site Design Group, the consulting firm hired to design services for the park.

Bike riders are in the same position skateboarders were in about a decade ago. They want to ride but have no place to practice their tricks.

Now skateboarders and inline skaters have parks in practically every municipality in the Valley, but bikes are excluded because the parks were not built for them.

Numerous bike riders approached Chandler and asked for their own place to ride. The council obliged by approving a $75,000 design fund for a bike/grind facility last spring, said Chandler park planning superintendent Mickey Ohland.

Rex Nielson, owner of Alter Ego Bike Shop in downtown Mesa, said a bike park is needed in the Valley, and it will be popular.

"There’s not any legal places to ride and do tricks," said Nielson, 38, who has been a competitive bike rider and enthusiast since he was 15. "BMX riding has been around as long as skateboarders, but they aren’t accommodated."

One of the most common bike rider maneuvers is "grinding" along a concrete ledge. Grinding is done when a rider slides his bike on the metal pegs which attach to a bicycle wheel’s axle. Grinding can cause damage to concrete if the ledge is not built for the trick.

No sites have been chosen yet for the Chandler bike park, and the first of several public meetings is planned for 6 p.m.
April 13 to get ideas from bike riders on what features they would like to see in a bike facility, Ohland said. The meeting will be in Room 111 of the Chandler Community Center, 125 E. Commonwealth Ave.

"It’s a unique facility just like the skate parks were five to six years ago," Ohland said.

With a national push for bike facilities, Saylan said Chandler is "extremely progressive" in becoming one of the first cities to begin looking at building a bike-only park.

"The thing that sets this park apart is it will be a bikedesigned park," said Saylan, adding that professional BMX rider John Parker will attend Chandler’s meeting and will be helping with the design. "There’s some great talent in the Valley as far as bike riders go. I imagine the park will cater to all skill levels and I imagine it will be a family park."

For information on the meeting, call (480) 782-2743 or send e-mail to
michael.ohland@ci.chandler.-az.us.

 

 

UPDATE 4-4-05

Pat Blackburn, the 3BC Captain for Chandler, just posted this on the message board:

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13,2005 WILL BE THE FIRST COMMUNITY INPUT MEETING TO START DESIGNING THE CHANDLER BIKE PARK. THE MEETING IS OPEN TO ANYONE BUT ONLY CHANDLER RESIDENTS WILL ACTUALLY HAVE VOICE. CHANDLER RESIDENTS, PLEASE COME READY TO GIVE YOUR INPUT AS TO THE DESIGN. YOU WILL HAVE TO GIVE YOUR ADDRESS, SO WRITE IT DOWN SO THAT YOU DON'T FORGET IT. I AM HOPING TO HAVE 80 OR MORE CHANDLER RESIDENTS PRESENT SO THAT THE NEW PARK CAN HAVE A STATE OF THE ART DESIGN. THIS MEETING WILL BE HELD AT 6:00 PM IN THE COMMUNITY CENTER. I'LL SUBMIT THE ADDRESS SOON. PLEASE PLAN TO BE IN ATTENDANCE

 

UPDATE 9-26-04

Pat Blackburn has been chosen to be the only Chandler citizen to sit on a panel with Mickey Ohland and other city personnel who will decide who gets to design the Chandler Bike Park.  All the panel members have the pitch documents from both California Skateparks and SDG, who turned out to be the only qualified design companies that wanted to do the job.  A meeting will be held in a couple weeks in which the design companies get to give their sales pitch, and shortly afterwards the panel will make its decision.

 

UPDATE 6-7-04

Okay, a couple things.  A few Chandler riders came up to me at Tyler's party the other day, and in talking to them, they were under the impression that the Chandler City Council had only appropriated $75,000 for a whole new grindpark.  One guy had heard somewhere that 2 million dollars had been appropriated for it.  Here are the facts:  Chandler has set aside $75,000 just to cover design costs.  The city council will very soon be setting aside about $750,000 to actually build the park.

Here's the other thing.  I want to officially encourage everyone to refrain from riding the Chandler Skatepark at Snedigar Sports Complex.  It is commendable that Chandler has recognized that bmx riders need a place to ride, and instead of ignoring the issue as many other Arizona cities have, they have made it a point to fix the problem.  Not only will the new grindpark be our first taste of legal concrete in the Valley, it will be big and super rad.  Mickey Ohland and Chandler Parks and Rec did an excellent job in getting the Chandler Skatepark built, and they will do the same for the grindpark.  Relatively, it won't be long until we can legally ride in Chandler.  The grindpark should be up and running within 1-1/2  to 2 years.  Compare that to the 6 years that Desert West Skatepark (Arizona's first public, concrete skatepark) has been open in Phoenix without allowing bikes.

AZ Republic article.

Lowell Huggins won in Chandler.  He supports the 3BC's efforts in Chandler, and his son used to ride bmx.  Congratulations goes out to Lowell for his big win!

 

UPDATE 5-17-04

CHANDLER AND BMX RIDERS WIN BIG!!!

As you should know, Pat Blackburn has been leading the Chandler wing of the 3BC.  Well he went to a city council meeting the other night and he's happy to report that the council unanimously passed a measure to appropriate $75,000 to cover design costs for a concrete grindpark!  Community input meetings will be held soon, in which riders will tell parks and rec what they want in the park.  I'll let you know when those meetings will go down.  Now listen skaters and inliners:  The council wants to make this a bikes-only park.  That's not because of the 3BC and the riders that have been working with us.  From the beginning, we have advocated that the park should be mixed use, just like we advocate that the existing concrete parks should be mixed use.  It looks like that with a lot of cities, they just can't seem to figure out that bikes, skateboards and inline skates can use the same park.  Well, what can ya do?  Maybe they'll realize it when they're arresting skaters in the bike park, and in the same breath, arresting bike riders in the skatepark.  At this point, we're finally getting some bike-friendly concrete, so I can't complain.  Thanks to all the riders, parents and supporters that went to city meetings to make this happen, and special thanks goes to Pat Blackburn, Leslie Saturday, Dave Taylor, Tyler Coleman, Matt Rich, and Shawn Spence.

 

UPDATE 4-6-04

Pat Blackburn led Chandler bmx riders to attend a city council meeting on March 25th.  Pat, Mellissa Buhl, and Ryan Cowling spoke to the council about the need for a concrete grindpark, and quite a few riders attended to show their support.  This was part of an effort to keep the issue at the forefront of the councilmembers' minds as they finish the city budget in April.  Chandler has the money to build a whole new grindpark, but they don't have money appropriated for operations and maintenace of one, which would be about $40,000 a year.  We are sincerely hoping they will realize this issue is important enough to find the O&M money during the budget discussions.

Also, ALL OUR CANDIDATES IN THE CHANDLER ELECTION WON!  This is extremely good for us, seeing as how the updated council will be voting on final approval of the budget!

Pat Blackburn (Chandler Captain of the 3BC) wrote this editorial, which will soon appear in the East Valley Tribune:

A WORD IS WORTH A THOUSAND PICTURES 

 

       Bikes in the Skatepark!  Close your eyes, what do you see?  Most people don’t know what a skatepark looks like.  The vision that they have is of an indoor skating rink, wood floors, disco ball, dim lights, soft music--definitely NO BIKES!  SKATERS YES.

      Bikes in a grind park or multi-use facility?  Don’t  know what that looks like, but it sounds OK doesn’t it?

       The biggest problem bikes have in getting into the skate park is that the parks are called skateparks.  This is a misleading name because rollerskates are not allowed either.

Parks for bikes and parks for skateboards are built the same, but the people who run these local skateparks insist on shutting their eyes and don’t see this--they insist on keeping their eyes shut to any input that might show them that they are wrong. They plug their ears and won’t listen to reason. They are in charge--they have been lied to by park builders, still, their decision making is senseless.

         Most of the skatepark decision makers have never visited a facility but they have a policy of making criminals out of kids by criminally charging them for riding their bikes in a public park--all because of the mistaken name, SKATEPARK.

          The “Know It All’s” have a solution though:  Build new parks, label them “bikes only”, arrest skaters. OPEN YOUR EYES AND EARS--quit making criminals out of kids who want to use the public parks for recreation!  KEEP THE POLICE ON THE STREET AND OUT OF THE PARKS!  Keep the kids in the parks, off the couch in front of the TV, away from drugs, alcohol, sex, and in a designated place, not forcing them to ride in dangerous places like downtown in front of businesses.  They know that bikes do not belong, along with skateboards and rollerblades on public sidewalks.  There are signs everywhere, but park planners only want to solve part of the problem.  Segregating the parks is a waste of tax dollars.  Criminalization of bike riding is a waste of police resource.  I feel the police are needed more in the fight of serious crime and not concentrating on kids on bikes in the park.            

           There is a group locally called the BIKE, BLADE, AND BOARD COALITION, (The 3BC} who have shown the park decision makers the truth regarding park naming, construction and multi-use, but the decision makers won’t open their eyes, ears, minds, and mouths to admit that they are wrong to segregate these parks.  The 3BC sends at least one representative yearly to the annual skatepark builders trade show.  The cities’ parks departments send no one, yet they still continue to make incorrect decisions about use and criminalization of the skate parks.

            Local police are over-zealously bullying these kids on bikes by citing them or arresting them in the skate parks. Kids as young as 13 are experiencing excessive force by the police, namely; being thrown to the ground to be handcuffed behind their backs, getting maced or pepper sprayed, being detained for hours, having their bikes confiscated for weeks, being coerced into wearing a wire to bust police known crack houses, and even having guns pulled on them.  This is absurd behavior on behalf of law enforcement!  It is fully unconstitutional, and any taxpayer should be up in arms at the waste of tax revenue used to continue this ongoing bullying of children for the crime of riding their bikes.  

THE SKATE PARKS MUST BE RENAMED to MULTI-USE PARKS and DESEGREGATED – NOW!       

 

UPDATE 3-16-04

Pat Blackburn, the Chandler Captain for the 3BC, just sent me this press release to get out to you:

ATTENTION
Anyone interested in helping with getting the Chandler skate park open to
bikes?
How? Attend Chandler city council meeting.

When?  March 25,2004, 7:00 PM

Where?  Chandler public library

What can I do to help?  Show up to show your support. We need as many
concerned citizens as possible to show that there is serious interest in this project.

Tell your friends,
family, parents, cousins, girlfriends, babysitters, doctors, ministers, priests, teachers, bosses, or anyone you know who might have an interest in keeping you from being fined,cuffed,hauled in or otherwise punished for riding your bike in the municipal skate park  

THE DOORS HAVE BEEN OPENED FOR YOU. IT’S TIME TO STEP
UP AND HELP BY BEING THERE TO BE COUNTED, BRING SOMEONE TO BE COUNTED!

DON’T  BE LATE!

 

2004 CHANDLER VOTING GUIDE

The Bike, Blade and Board Coalition is proud to endorse the following candidates in the upcoming Chandler Mayoral and City Council Election on March 9th:

Matt Orlando for City Council

Martin Sepulveda for City Council

Lowell Huggins for City Council

Boyd Dunn for Mayor

These candidates have all expressed their support for a public facility for bmx bikes.  They understand that bmx bike riders need a place to ride, just like the skateboarders and inliners.  Be sure to register to vote by February 9th and vote in the election on March 9th.  Your vote does make a difference!

 

UPDATE 1-17-04

About 30 Chandler riders attended the Chandler Parks and Rec Board meeting on January 6th.  It was just what they call an "information session" for Parks and Rec to report what they were working on for a solution to the "bikes in skatepark problem" to the board.  It was important that riders showed up to this though, to continue to put pressure on Chandler to solve their problem.  Thanks to all the riders who came out.  It may not seem like it, but every bit helps.  I want to thank Kelly Lang for doing an article about the meeting in The Ocotillo News, a local paper for the residents of the Snedigar Skatepark area.  Her help is much appreciated.

UPDATE 12-17-03

The city council sub-committee that was formed to look at what could be done for bmx riders concerning the skatepark met again the other day, with Pat Blackburn and myself in attendance.  To make a long story short, the city has both the money (about $600,000) and the land in an existing park to build a whole new grindpark!  This in itself is so good you don't even know.  Most valley cities have had to apply for grants and heritage funds and do all kinds of crazy things just to come up with the money and land to build their skateparks. The only obstacle in the way of building a grindpark in Chandler right now is the operational cost of a new grindpark.  Chandler Parks and Rec estimated that it would cost about $40,000 a year to operate a new grindpark, and they said they don't think they can come up with it.  All of the city council members on the sub-committee (Patti Bruno, Bob Caccamo, and Donna Wallace) want a new grindpark to happen, and they told parks and rec to find the money while they're making their budget for the year.  I think both the mayor and vice-mayor want this to happen also, so that is very good.  The best thing we can do right now is to attend the next Chandler parks and rec board meeting, which will take place on Tuesday, January 6th at 5PM in the Chandler City Council Chambers, which are located on the 2nd floor of the Chandler Public Library.  Chandler parks and rec will be presenting this grindpark proposal to the Chandler parks and rec board at that meeting.  Everyone who came to the Chandler city council meeting back in May needs to come to this meeting, and this time, each of you bring AT LEAST one other person.  We need to pack the chambers and let the council and parks board know there is still a huge interest in seeing this grindpark happen.  And if you see Pat Blackburn anywhere, thank him profusely.  He has been the guy leading the charge in Chandler, getting newspapers on the case, and basically making so much noise that everyone is forced to listen to what he has to say.  Pat is the 3BC's Chandler Captain, and he's doing a kickass job.

UPDATE 9-4-03

The Chandler Grindpark input meeting seemed to go very well.  We estimate about a hundred or so Chandler residents came to the meeting to show their support.  Rex stayed after the meeting, talking to Mickey Ohland and Mark Eynatten, and said he got some really good feedback from them.  Now Parks and Rec will put together a proposal for city council for the grindpark, and it will be up to them if it will be built or not.  You can help influence the city council.  E-mail your council members at the addresses below, and let them know you want this grindpark to happen.

UPDATE 8-19-03

As you know, Chandler has been researching the possibility of allowing bikes in their skatepark. We know that Mark Eynatten (Chandler Community Services Director) and Mickey Ohland (Chandler New Parks Developer) are recommending to the city council that bikes not be allowed in, because there's a chance that somehow, maybe, bikes might damage the skatepark.  The good news is that Mark Eynatten and Mickey Ohland have agreed to have the skatepark's designer, Carter-Burgess, evaluate the park for a retrofit so it could allow bikes with no chance of damage to the concrete.  They have also arranged a community input meeting next week to guage the interest of the community in a whole NEW GRINDPARK.  This park would allow all reasonable users, and would probably be built in an existing park.  We need as many Chandler bike riders, skaters, inliners, and scooter kids to show up to let the city know the interest out there in a new park that allows all user-types.  Riders, skaters, inliners, and scooter kids from other cities are absolutely welcome as well, but Chandler is looking mainly at the interest level of their citizens in a grindpark.  The meeting will be held in the City Council Chambers on the second floor of the Chandler Public Library on Wednesday, August 27th, from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM.  SHOW UP TO THIS.  THE NUMBER OF CHANDLER RESIDENTS WHO ATTEND WILL DETERMINE IF BIKES WILL FINALLY GET A LEGAL CONCRETE PARK TO RIDE IN THE VALLEY!

 

UPDATE 6-5-03

The Chandler bigwigs (the risk manager, city attorney, city manager, director of parks and rec, etc...)  have decided to recommend that the Chandler city council NOT allow bikes in the skatepark.  They assume that bikes will thrash this park which was constructed extremely well and I think could hold up to a nuclear holocaust.  We will be pushing to get this issue on the city council agenda to have them put it to a vote.  The city council has the final say, these bigwigs don't.  We need you to e-mail this form letter to all the Chandler city council members.  Of course you can modify it where appropriate, or compose your own letter.  Make sure to send it to all these adresses:

Mayor&Council@ci.chandler.az.us

bob.caccamo@ci.chandler.az.us

patti.bruno@ci.chandler.az.us

boyd.dunn@ci.chandler.az.us

lowell.huggins@ci.chandler.az.us

dean.anderson@ci.chandler.az.us

donna.wallace@ci.chandler.az.us

phill.westbrooks@ci.chandler.az.us

 

Dear Councimember ___________,

My name is _________ and I am a BMX bike rider and a resident of Chandler.  I am also a registered voter and taxpayer.  I am very concerned that Chandler wants to continue to ban BMX bikes from the Chandler Skatepark.  Chandler Parks and Recreation Department, the city attorney, the risk manager, and other city officials will be recommending that bikes not be allowed in the skatepark.  This is based on their inaccurate assumption that bikes will ruin the park.  Bike riders have been riding the Chandler skatepark, regardless of the rules, quite a bit over the past 12 months, as there have been only 5 warnings and 2 tickets issued by police.  The skatepark has held up just fine.  The city could easily implement a trial period (as other cities have done) in which bikes can be allowed and the park can be regularly inspected for any signs of damage.  BMX bicycle riders need equitable treatment along with the skateboarders and inline skaters.  The city of Chandler can save money on having to build a whole new $500,000 bikepark by simply allowing bikes in the existing skatepark.   You can let bicycles into this skatepark, making it a grindpark that all reasonable users can enjoy.  In this time of our city, when kids tend to get into trouble because they have nothing to do, and are setting records for obesity,  we need to make every effort to provide them with facilities in which they can practice positive athletic activities. 

 

 

UPDATE 5-20-03

We are still trying to get as many riders and supporters as possible to send e-mails to Chandler to let them know that they need to let bikes in the skatepark.  This is very important to send e-mails at this point in time, when the bigwigs are seriously considering the issue and taking trips to other cities that allow bikes in their skateparks to see how it's going.  You can send this letter as is, just adding your name, or you can compose your own, using this one as a guideline.  Make sure you spell properly and try to be as clear and concise as possible.  Send the letter to both Mayor Dunn at boyd.dunn@ci.chandler.az.us and to the Chandler City Policy Maker, Mark Eynatten, at mark.eynatten@ci.chandler.az.us   

Here is the letter:

 

Dear Mayor Dunn,

My name is _________ and I am a BMX bike rider and a resident of Chandler.  I am very concerned that BMX bikes are banned from the Chandler Skatepark.  Chandler Parks and Recreation has made it known that bikes are banned from the skatepark because the designer will not warrantee the park if bikes are allowed.  The designer, however, does not live in Chandler and does not know what kinds of problems and inequities this bike ban is creating in the community.  BMX bicycle riders need equitable treatment along with the skateboarders and inline skaters.  The city of Chandler can save money by simply allowing bikes in the skatepark.  Bike riders are currently riding this facility anyways, regardless of the rules, just like they do in the other cities.  Chandler is wasting money for police and park rangers to keep bicycle riders out of the skatepark.  Police protection is also being taken from the neighborhood just to keep bicycle riders out of a skatepark, but it doesn't have to be like this .  Bike riders don't have to be turned into criminals.  You can let bicycles into this skatepark, making it a grindpark that all potential users can enjoy.  In this time of our city, when kids tend to get into trouble because they have nothing to do, we need to make every effort to provide them with facilities in which they can practice positive activities.