Skate boarding or tennis?
That will be one of the questions before the Arlington Heights Park District Tuesday as commissioners consider whether to approve removing two tennis courts at Olympic Park to build a skate park.
Skateboard enthusiasts and in-line skaters won a small victory June 4 when the park district, in a preliminary vote, approved taking out the tennis courts so a skate park could be built. The park district also has pledged $10,000 to the effort.
But constructing a skate park has raised the ire of those who live near Olympic Park, 660 N. Ridge Ave. Without a significant commitment of resources and special programming for teenagers, Olympic Park might turn into nothing more than a teen hangout and an invitation for trouble, some residents said.
“I can’t put a new room on my house for $10,000,” said Ruth Waltasti, who lives near the park. “You need to put your money where your mouth is. I don’t think you’re giving them enough.”
Waltasti recently delivered a petition to the Arlington Heights Village Board containing signatures of 60 people who opposed construction of a skate park in Olympic Park. However, she said, about 90 percent of the residents she interviewed favored a skate park as long as it was not built in their neighborhood.
“We just don’t think there’s any more room for a high-population activity,” Waltasti said.
Gerald Oakes, the park district’s executive director, downplayed resident fears. He said teens often can be found on park district lands playing tennis, golf or swimming in public pools. There’s hardly ever problems, he added.
“It’s always hard to plan for that teenage group, because their interests change so quickly,” he said.
If approved on Tuesday, the skate park proposal would then proceed to a village planning committee. It then must go before the Village Board for final approval. The entire process could take at least a month.
Don Quinlan, a program director at Lattof YMCA in Des Plaines, said he understands the concerns of those who live near Olympic Park.
But, he added, before the Lattof YMCA built its outdoor skate park a year ago, teens were getting into trouble and suffering injuries, because many of them were skating in areas not meant for the activity.
The skate park has helped lure teens to the YMCA, and without any serious incidents, he added.
