Renegade Skaters

By Hanna Aronovich in News on Aug 2, 2006 6:17PM

Don’t hate, accommodate. That’s just what Naperville (the best place on earth!) did for its skaters, but apparently their efforts weren’t enough. On Monday, the Tribune reported that rather than skate at one of the neighborhood’s two skate parks (Frontier Sports Complex or Centennial Park), teenagers were opting to practice on a church roof – namely St. John’s Episcopal Church a few block from Centennial Park.

The church’s roof reportedly has more than $35,000 in damage from the tails and wheels of the skateboards. And, the “no skateboarding” signs posted do little to deter determined skaters. To their credit, the church has been remarkably even-tempered about the whole thing. “We really like kids,” Rev. Virgil Robinson told the Tribune. “We really want them to come and go and be free.” The church isn’t even pressing charges against the 17-year-old and 18-year-old caught on the roof.

However, the church wants the skateboarding to stop primarily due to safety reason. Robinson said two years ago, a skateboarder crashed through the church’s plate-glass door. Fortunately, the skateboarder wasn’t hurt (but it’s only a matter of time before someone breaks a limb!).

Although skate parks can curb the damage caused by skating around the community, it doesn’t eliminate problem. One teen said the parks were too easy to skate, and the church – and other stairs and handrails around the area – provide a greater challenge.

While we understand the plight of the hard-core skater, it seems disrespectful to skate in public areas when Naperville has invested $450,000 on skate parks. “The city built a beautiful park for the kids, but the hard-core skateboarders got bored with it,” Naperville Police Offer Mike Hull told the Tribune.

At the risk of sounding old and crotchety, we’d like to point out some neighborhoods don’t have any skate parks, and you kids in Naperville have two! So, quit your troublemaking and skate nice, now.

Image via Skateboard Park.