Our View: Skate park proposal worth embracing
It’s been nearly seven years since a group of youths approached the Tonganoxie City Council to ask the city to construct a skate park. Now, those seeds sown in 2001 are producing fruit.
The council last week directed City Administrator Mike Yanez to draft a letter to the Tonganoxie School District to ask if the city could have a tract of land in the south of the high school fieldhouse on which to build a skate park. The city, as compensation to the district, would asphalt part of the area for overflow parking for the high school.
We hope the Tonganoxie School Board accepts the offer and the city follows through and builds the skate park.
The land in question is in the floodplain and there are no plans to build on it. It also meets many of the city’s requirements for a park, including being in a centrally located, high-visibility area, adjacent to a roadway and with restrooms and parking nearby. As Mayor Mike Vestal said, “It’s a wonderful idea. We get what we want and the school gets what they need.”
There’s another group in the equation, too. With the school board’s approval, finally, the skaters be able to realize their dream.