EDITORIAL

Just like baseball and soccer players have their fields, basketball

and tennis players have their courts and track and field athletes have --

well -- their tracks and fields, it’s only appropriate that skateboarders

have their skate park.

So, it impressed us greatly Tuesday night when the mayor of Newport

Beach announced the city will create a partnership with the city of Costa

Mesa to make such a park a reality. We’ll be even more impressed if the

cities take the notion all the way and eventually cut a ribbon on a

joint-use park.

The cities must know they’re behind the curve on this one. Not

everyone wants to surf or snowboard and, as a result, need an environment

in which they can skate without worrying anyone about potential property

damage.

It’s a shame that skateboarders have developed what some deem an

outlaw image. In truth, they simply have no place to skate and have to

skate anywhere they can. The latter fact irks some, but what are they

expected to do? Give up a sport they can call their own?

No. And now, we hope they’ll have a place of their own to practice the

sport they love.

Costa Mesa officials have considered building a skate park for about a

decade and, as recently as a year ago, debated the topic, but council

members couldn’t agree on a site. The city then created a mobile skate

park that still travels around the city.

Newport Beach, meanwhile, added more restrictions to skateboarding in

city parks a couple of months ago. Skateboarders are no longer allowed to

use any paved surface with a slope of 6% grade or steeper and cannot

skate on benches, planters, railings and other structures. Again,

skateboarders lost freedom and locations.

The solution Newport Beach arrived at Tuesday makes perfect sense.

After all, Newport-Mesa shares a school district, a police helicopter, a

few sports leagues and more, so the cities should team up for a skate

park from which both cities can benefit. We hope the Newport-Mesa Unified

School District also enters the effort.

Now, and we probably speak for the community’s skateboarders as well,

we can’t wait to hear the ideas coming out of each camp involved. Skate

on.