BUCKEYE

 

February 16, 2007

Check this article from the West Valley View:

Buckeye discusses Sundance park

 Robin N. Clayton
staff writer

Jungle gym or ball courts? Recreation facility or swimming pool? BMX park or library?

These were the questions asked by Buckeye town officials at a public meeting Feb. 6 regarding what to do with a 65-acre parcel of land set aside for a park.

The land, at Rainbow and Lower Buckeye roads, was given to the town by the developers of the neighboring Sundance community, and plans for a community park are in the works.

The town presented a master plan for the park, but the plan is in no way set in stone, Community Services Director Jeanine Guy said.

"We had to have some type of master plan for the facility, but this is just conceptual. There is nothing on this plan that we can't change," Guy said, adding that the meeting would be the first of several regarding the planning of the facility.

"We want it to meet the needs of the residents," Guy said.

The initial master plan calls for a variety of amenities to be built in the large community park, including an aquatic center; multigenerational facility; courtyard, baseball, softball, volleyball and basketball courts; soccer fields; playground and splash playground; trail system; and areas for skate, bike and dog parks.

The park will also have security lighting, the parking lots will be closed at night and eventually the park will be patrolled by park rangers, Parks Manager David Showen said.

Funding for the park will come from various sources, Library Manager Cheryl Sedig said.

"We have some money in the pipeline already. We will also be pursuing grants," Sedig said.

The town will also use impact fees to fund the park, Guy said.

"We wouldn't need all of the facilities if the new houses were not coming into the area," she said.

The park is planned to be a large community park, not a regional park, but Buckeye's parks and open space master plan calls for other regional parks in the area, Guy said.

"This [park and open space plan] is so awesome. It is one of the finest in the nation. We will be defined by our open space. I truly feel it will be nationally recognized," Guy said.

Included in that plan is White Tank Mountain Regional Park, which is part of the county park system; a trail system and camping facilities in the state land below that park; the Buckeye Hills recreation area; and the proposed Buckeye town lake, among other park and open space amenities in the region.

The town hopes to start construction the first of next year, Showen said.

 

Robin Clayton can be reached by e-mail at rclayton@westvalleyview.com.

 

March 2, 2005

About 50 riders, parents and supporters came out to protest at the Buckeye Skatepark Grand Opening last Saturday, Feb. 26th.  I guess I’m lucky that Tempe had their grand opening the same day and time, because from what I heard went down out there, I would have gotten arrested, plain and simple.  The civil rights violations were A’FLYIN’!!!  Can you believe they wouldn’t let anyone even SKATE the park who had on a sticker or a shirt saying anything about bikes being allowed in?  I wouldn’t have stood for that bullshit.  I COULDN’T have stood for it!  The protest went very well anyways, as evidenced by the below article.  Jerry Davis, the 3BC’s Buckeye Captain, is on the agenda to speak at the Buckeye city council meeting on March 16 at the town’s request.  That’s a very good sign.

 

Signs of Protest

MARTIN CHAVEZ, 15, of Avondale stands at the fence of the Buckeye Skate Park Feb. 26 holding a sign protesting the town’s decision to ban BMX-style bikes from using the facility. The approaching Buckeye police officers made Chavez and other protestors along the fence move at the request of Jeanine Guy, Buckeye’s director of Parks, Recreation and Library Services.
BMX riders protest skate park

Robin N. Clayton
staff writer

 Upset that park officials have banned bikes from riding the ramps, both BMX riders and skaters sported signs of protest at the Feb. 26 grand opening of the Buckeye Skate Park.

“There are skate parks everywhere, but there is nowhere for us to go. We have been talking to the city workers about this but they just don’t seem to care,” said Jerry Davis, BMX rider and protest organizer.

“Everywhere we go we get kicked out — the skate park, the streets. It was supposed to be for all of us, but now they say it is a $500 ticket if we go in there with a bike,” Davis said.

Originally, the park was planned for both skateboards and bikes, but there were several reasons that bikes were eventually excluded, said Jeanine Guy, Director of Parks, Recreation and Library Services.

“Insurance and the size of the park were two reasons. There was also the problem with staffing,” said Guy, who added that metal pegs on the BMX bikes damage the equipment, and the bikes must also have certain types of tires to ride on the ramps.

“That is a lot of monitoring, and we just don’t have the staff to dedicate to this,” Guy said.

Davis felt differently. “They say it is for insurance reasons, but those ramps are certified for BMX — that is enough insurance for me. We need somewhere for these kids to ride.”

Sharing is caring
BMX rider Bryce Larson said that willingness to share isn’t the problem.

“The skaters don’t have a problem with the BMX riders, and the riders don’t have a problem with the skaters, so why can’t we go in there?” Bryce said.

Some of the skaters, however, had mixed feelings.

“I had a bike thrown down on me once already. I mean — it was an accident, not on purpose —but when they are in there, it does make it harder for us,” said Raul Mendez, a skater from Buckeye.

Another skater, Criss Hutton, said, “I don’t care if the bikes are in there, but they do chip everything with their pegs. They chip the ground and the wood, and then it cracks and spreads.”

BMX parent Sherry Heisley was upset about the ban. Heisley’s 14-year-old son, John, rides BMX. Heisley attended the initial planning meetings for the park.

“They [town officials] said at that point that the bikes would be allowed in. Why should they invite the BMX riders to the meetings if they weren’t going to allow the bikes in the park?” said Heisley, who added that many shared bike and skate parks were about the same size, so size shouldn’t be an issue.

“Now my boy has to sit out and watch, instead of being able to go in and have some fun. I am upset about the whole deal — we were under the impression that they were going to allow the bikes in until just a few months ago,” Heisley said.

“I don’t mind if they do this to adults because they can handle it, but don’t tell the kids that they get to have something and then take it away from them,” Heisley said.

A need for law enforcement
Those who held up the signs, or placed them in a visible location, were told by police to remove the signs or put them down before entering the park.

Guy said she asked that the signs not be allowed in because Skatewave, the equipment manufacturer, was using the event as a publicity photo shoot.

“Skatewave has been marvelous. We have three times the equipment than we could have afforded if it wasn’t for Skatewave. They came here to do their promotional photo shoot, and we couldn’t let the signs in there for that reason,” said Guy, adding that Skatewave had given the town $80,000 worth of equipment for $25,000.

Bryce said the police should pay attention to more pressing issues.

Working on a solution
Guy said that the town was working on possible solutions so the BMX riders would have somewhere to go.

“We are considering allowing bikes in on certain days and skaters in on others. We also have plenty of room to expand to the south in the future. We understand how they feel, and aren’t trying to exclude them, but we just don’t have the money to do it all at once,” Guy said.

Police Chief Dave Owens also expressed his concerns over the issues.

“We are in the process of working something out, but right now it is a liability issue. Falling off a skateboard is one thing, but to have a bike fall on a kid is something different,” said Owens, who added, “I understand they need somewhere to ride, but we just can’t have them both in there at the same time. I happen to know that many of those BMX riders are also skaters. I would just as soon see them go home and get their skateboards and come back and join in the fun.”

Robin Clayton can be reached by e-mail at rclayton@westvalleyview.com.


 

Since we've got such great momentum going, please take a little time and e-mail a letter to the editor of the West Valley View.  It just gets our cause more exposure if supporting letters pop up in the editorial page.  The e-mail address for submitting editorials can be obtained by going to www.westvalleyview.com

 

February 12, 2005

BUCKEYE (re-scheduled) PROTEST

As I'm sure you figured out, there was no grand opening for the Buckeye Skatepark today due to the most inclement of weather, so there was no protest either.  The grand opening has been re-scheduled for Saturday, February 26th, from 10 AM to 1PM, so the protest has been re-scheduled, too.  The 3BC will be present at the grand opening of the Buckeye Skatepark to protest the "no bikes allowed" rule in the new park. For any more info on the situmuation, please refer to the post below

 

February 2, 2005

BUCKEYE PROTEST

On Saturday, February 12, from 9 AM to 12 noon, the 3BC will be present at the grand opening of the Buckeye Skatepark to protest the "no bikes allowed" rule in the new park.  Any riders who live even remotely close to Buckeye need to be there.  Riders from Avondale, Goodyear, Glendale, pretty much the whole west valley.  Do your best to get your parents out there too, or at least someone you know that looks like they vote.  As bad as it is that we aren't allowed in the concrete parks, this is that much more of a slap in the face.  The ramps are made by Skatewave, who certifies ALL of their ramps for bike, blade and board use.  Skatewave evens sponsors pro BMX rider Bruce Crisman for God's sake!  Buckeye simply has no excuse for not allowing bikes in the park, they're just making this rule because that's what every other skatepark in Maricopa County  has done.

Now I want to be clear on something:  Although this park is worth fighting to get access into, it is far from being an ideal place to ride.  None of these modular ramp companies have been able to produce a park that can keep kids interested and challenged for any substantial length of time.  For the money Buckeye spent to buy these little ramps and pour the concrete pad they sit on, they could have built a rad concrete park like Wickenburg and Coolidge did.  Those parks are used constantly and are tons of fun, and they will remain challenging for years and years to come.  Buckeye Parks and Rec really did the kids in their town a disservice by not going with concrete or at the very least a good custom ramp builder.  All, of course, against the advice of the skatepark development experts at the 3BC.

That being said, if bike riders get access to this park, it's a lot better than access to no park.  Jerry Davis, the 3BC's Buckeye Captain, said that some of the ramps are 5' to 6' tall, so that's already better than Payson's and Nogales's  parks.  Come out to the protest, bring big signs on bright posterboard, bring your bike, and wear some tie-dye and an acoustic six-string strapped to your back.  Well, you don't really need to bring those last two things, but a little hippie style never hurts when you gettin' yo protest on.  To get to the Buckeye Skatepark, take I-10 west 'til you see no signs of civilization.  Exit on Miller Road and head South.  You go a few miles down Miller, then hang left on 9th Street.  The skatepark is on the right, inside Buckeye's main city park.  Peace, brothers.

 

October 26, 2004

I wasn't able to attend the Buckeye City Council meeting on the 19th, but Jerry Davis, our Buckeye 3BC Captain, said it went very well.  Reportedly a number of riders and parents spoke to the council, and Jerry talked to the mayor personally after the meeting.  Keep your fingers crossed.  Hopefully Buckeye will do the right thing for their kids.

 

October 7, 2004

The 3BC will be going to the Buckeye City Council Meeting on Tuesday, October 19th at 6:30 PM. The Council Chambers are located at 100 North Apache in
Buckeye.  We need as many riders, skaters, rollerbladers, parents and supporters to come out as possible.  As you know, the Buckeye Director of Parks and Rec and Library wants to put in a Skatewave modular ramp park instead of concrete as was originally planned.  Skatewave's crap is a disgusting, overpriced excuse for a skatepark, and we need to inform the Buckeye City Council that we don't want it, we want something decent to ride that will last.....concrete.  The Buckeye Director of Parks and Rec and Library also reneged on allowing bikes in the park, as was originally planned.  If you live anywhere even remotely close to Buckeye, come out and show your support!  You don't even have to speak, your presence will be noticed by the council.

 

September 25, 2004

Okay, this new news is really disgusting, but somehow I'm not surprised.  Both Jerry Davis and Rex Golos have been dealing with Jeanine Guy, the Buckeye Director of Parks and Rec and Library.  From everything they have told me, she seemed like a shady character to deal with.  Now we know it as fact.  She pulled the old switch-a-roo on us.  Jeanine has been going to the Buckeye High School Skate Club meetings without letting the bike riders know and has been starting to get the skate club's input on the park's design without holding real community input meetings.  Now Jeanine is saying the park will not be concrete and will not allow bikes.  The park is going to consist of Skatewave ramps on a concrete slab.  Skatewave ramps are complete shit, and if you don't believe me, read this article from Big Brother Skateboard Magazine at http://www.bigbrothermag.com/105/politics/politics.htm

Jerry says this is completely F'd up.

 

September 2, 2004

We have known that Buckeye had a skatepark planned for a while.  It is planned to allow bikes, and thanks to our Buckeye 3BC Captain Jerry Davis, the issue has been kept at the forefront of the minds of the park planners.  Buckeye originally wanted to have a mix of concrete bowls and wooden ramps, but we helped convince them that it would be much better to build the whole thing in concrete.  Even a small concrete park can turn out super-rad with a good design.  Just look at Casa Grande's park.  Buckeye will begin construction on their skatepark early next week, so if everything goes well, we could be riding it in 2-3 months.