Duboce-Mission Skate Park Planned for Area
Beneath Octavia Boulevard Overpass

By Jonathan Farrell

Castro and Mission neighborhood residents showed enthusiastic support at a March 5 meeting as plans were discussed for a new skate park at Duboce and Mission streets.

Bryan Hornbeck of the San Francisco Skateboarders Association (SFSA) was pleased with the turnout of the Thursday night meeting held at the LGBT Center. “The reaction from the people was great, everyone clapped,” said Hornbeck. “The place was full of support.”

Ted Loewenberg, vice president of SFSA, said the association was formed two years ago. He was chairman of the City’s task force for skateboarding established by then City Supervisor Gavin Newsom in 2003.

“We now have about 400 members. I am not a skateboarder, but I am an advocate,” he said. Loewenberg went on to note that while the City is often looked at as a Mecca for the sport, it is “woefully lacking in world class skateboarding facilities.

“Potrero Del Sol/La Raza Skate Park that opened in the Mission District this past summer, that took about five years,” he said. Supporters hope the Duboce and Mission skate park will not take as long to complete to supplement the City’s two existing skate parks.

“Skateboarding got established here in California back in the 1960s. Since that time it has continued to grow as an activity as well as a sport,” said Loewenberg. “We estimate that anywhere from 20,000 to 25,000 skateboarders are in the city at various times with an age range of about 15 to 40 years of age. Just go on the web to and see the displays on ‘You Tube’ – there are lots of postings of skateboarders who have clips of their experience in San Francisco.”

He is pleased that Rich Hillis, of the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, is working with Caltrans towards making the park a reality. Hillis explained that funds will be raised by the City for this effort by selling parcels of land it owns.

New Line Skate Parks, Inc. of Canada will be designing the park to be located in a largely empty area underneath the Octavia Boulevard highway overpass. Hillis believes that this is a great opportunity to make good use of unutilized space.

Long-time resident Lynn Valente attended the meeting and said she hopes that the funding for the skate park from the sale of the lots freed up by the freeway demolition north of Market Street will come soon.

“I don’t want to be negative but I imagine with this present economy it will be difficult to find a buyer to develop the parcels,” she said.

Hollis is confident regardless of the economic downturn.

“I think the outreach that has been done so far with regards to this project has been very good,” said Valente. “I want as many people as possible to get informed, to get involved and to help, especially non-skateboarders.”

The latest community meeting for the proposed skate park happened April 2. Details of the meeting were not available at press time.

For more information about future meetings, visit: http://sfskateboarding.org/11.html. Or call Bryan Hornbeck of SFSA at 415-786-3384.

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