A Skate Park Could End Our Problems

“Why are you being a nuisance?”

“Get the hell out of here!”

This is where the story starts.

It sounds like something a belligerent drunk would shout at me as if I was cruising on my skateboard down State St.

These words actually slapped me in the face as I was being patted down by one of Milwaukee’s finest.

Milwaukee PD is always on the prowl searching for hooligans pushing wood through their streets. Even at night when drunk driving and violence is at its peak they’ll whip on their red and blue lights to stop skateboarders in their tracks.

There are three skate parks in Milwaukee. Two of these are indoors and are on the outskirts of the city unreachable by bus. It’s a convenient place to skate when the winter weather is dumped on the city, but the distance and the cost are hard for some to manage. The third is a DIY park in an abandoned tennis court, in the heart of the Estabrook woods. With little room downtown for a skate park to bring the skateboarding community together, the streets are the last resort.

Skateboarders have a special sight. It’s like a pair of goggles that transforms any form of infrastructure into a skate spot. You see the drained fountain by the library, and we see a launch ramp to the sidewalk. You use a handrail to safely walk down the stairs, and we want to grind it. It’s only natural for skateboarders to want to explore the city.

As cheesy as it sounds, being a skateboarder changed my life. I made friends, I learned perseverance, and sadly I learned pain management. Even with my dwindling bank account being overdrawn frequently due to broken boards and emergency room visits, it’s still worth it. Being a skateboarder wasn’t just my hobby anymore; it was a lifestyle and the police want nothing to do with it.

This is where the story climaxes.

I finally landed the trick I’ve been visualizing in my head for the past three months at Curtin Hall. As my friend, who was filming, and I were leaving, the campus police jumped their Camaro over the curb and almost hit us. He ran out with his nightstick drawn and screamed, “drop to your knees.” We fully cooperated and had nothing rude to say other than, “Why are you zip tying our hands?” We were patted down and had nothing on us. He let us go and told me that I’d never make it in college hanging with “these hoodlums.”

Skateboarders have a negative image in the community. If there was a local skate park downtown where skaters could congregate, maybe skateboarders and the Milwaukee community could live harmoniously.