C1. Board Member DePalma Presentation — original pdf

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Presentation to The City of Austin Parks and Recreation Board by Rich DePalma, Board Member Why Use 3D? September 2, 2020 A fall Friday night in Austin October 27, 2017 @ 7:17pm Why Use 3D? Skate Park Kasmiersky Wheeled Sports Plaza Conroe, Texas Fostering a love for nature in unique ways. Quick Review Estimated 3,500 skateparks in the United States 3 in Austin – Mabel Davis District Park, Heath Eiland and Morgan Moss BMX Skate Park, and Patterson Neighborhood Park City of Austin PARD Long Range Plan 2020 - 2030 City of Austin Long Range Plan 2010 American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons How to Improve Safety of Skateboarding Choose a Safe Environment Children are most at risk for injury when they skateboard near traffic or in places where it is possible to collide with motor vehicles, bikes, pedestrians, or other obstacles. To improve skateboarding safety, a growing number of communities provide supervised skateboard parks. These may have professionally designed “bowls” and “ramps” or other designated skateboarding areas that are located away from motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic… In addition to choosing locations away from traffic, follow the recommendations below to ensure a safe environment for skateboarding. Avoid skateboarding on irregular surfaces. • • Do not use homemade skateboard ramps. • Never use your skateboard in wet weather • • Never hold onto the side or rear of a moving vehicle while riding a skateboard (“skitching”.) Avoid skateboarding in crowded walkways or in darkness. Neighborhood Park Use by Children American Journal of Prevention Medicine Choose a Safe Environment “Physical inactivity has been declared a global public health problem by the WHO. Estimates suggest that 65% of U.S. children aged 9-11 years do not get at least 20 minutes of daily vigorous physical activity, and this rate may be considerably lower when measured by accelerometer. The public health significance of the problem is underscored by evidence showing that physical inactivity increases risk of many serious health conditions. A growing body of research has linked children’s physical activity levels to neighborhood built environmental characteristics.” T h e r e a r e n o t e n o u g h p a r k s a n d p a r k a c t i v i t i e s f o r c h i l d r e n . Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3979930/ Pullias Center for Higher Education, USC Study – Beyond the Board: Findings from the Field February 26, 2020 Key findings: Skateboarding improves mental health – Majority of skaters indicated they skateboard for fun and/or to relieve stress. Skateboarding and skateparks facilitate a sense of community among skaters – Reported the value of connecting with people who share similar passions in skateparks. Those encounters often facilitate intercultural communication and offer skaters the opportunity to interact with and gain an increased understanding of skaters of diverse racial, age and gender backgrounds. Skateboarding encourages resilience – Skateboarding requires skaters to learn on their own and develop their own strategies to succeed. Skaters frequently perform a trick hundreds of times before experiencing reward for the efforts. Skaters reported that they apply these lessons of resilience to their lives outside of skateboarding. Gender and race matter – The study also showed that skaters of color felt a greater degree of safety from judgment within the skateboarding community than in nonskate contexts. Female skaters indicated they believe they are judged by their gender both in and out of skateboarding contexts. https://pullias.usc.edu/download/beyond-the-board-findings-from-the-field/ 2017/2018 POLICY AND OPERATIONS CHANGES - GREEN/RECREATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE “The City’s stormwater conveyance system is composed of natural and engineered creeks and channels, a network of drainage pipelines, and structural stormwater management controls. Watershed Protection’s Field Operations Division (FOD) is responsible for the maintenance of this system, which includes a variety of activities to ensure conveyance for stormwater runoff. Staff removes excessive vegetation debris and obstructions, including trash and debris, from open channels and waterways, culvert and bridge locations. Litter and debris also has the potential to clog and obstruct existing drainage infrastructure, creating stormwater conveyance issues.” Surf Ditch Austin, Texas Town Center Park Denver, Colorado Rabalder Skate Park Roskilde, Denmark WJ Skatepark + Urban Plaza Eugene, Oregon The country’s largest covered and lit public skatepark. Underpass Skatepark Toronto, Ontario Vancouver Skate Plaza Vancouver, British Columbia Ralambshovsparken Skatepark Stockholm, Sweden 71/290 What about Austin? Questions? Circa 1986