Mayor Fischer showed a genuine interest, asking about the local Skate Park, what it needed and what could improve it. The group offered serious suggestions and recommendations and sited several local Skate shops as the unofficial representatives of the local Skate community. Two main concerns - shade and graphitti stood out (along with a lack of recycling bins) and the group had several great suggestions to tackle these issues.
Local politics may not have been a talking point down at the skate park but Mayor Fischer may have just changed that. Listening to constituents is something most good polititians try to do but showing a genuine interest and engaging individuals on the things that matter most to them is priceless and yesterday Mayor Fischer showed this group that they matter. At least to me, it seemed as though they left Metro Hall with perhaps a different view of our new Mayor than when they walked in 45 minutes earlier. Who knows, maybe we can look to the skate park for one of our future city leaders!
Posts
Hopefully skateboarders in Perm are more respectful than those in Louisville. While I initially supported the skate park, I can no longer say that I do. The park has attracted vandals who "tag" not only the park, but also neighboring businesses, homes, and other structures. The users also frequently vandalize neighbors' vehicles and the restrooms provided are out of order due to vandalism more often than not. In addition, neighbors are now forced to content with an abundance of litter in the form of discarded fast food wrappers, beverage containers, and empty spray paint cans that park users discard on the streets.
ReplyDeleteThe park seemed like a good idea, but it has proven to be detrimental to the quality of life of those who live in the neighborhood. While I wish responsible users would exert peer pressure on those who do the damage to stop or would report the vandals to the police, no one has done either.