Dear, City of Martinez.

I came back from the skatepark Saturday morning with my new blue grip tape covered in muddy footprints, I felt the need to vent my frustrations.
So I wrote this letter. I havent sent it, nor ever will but writing it is somewhat cathartic.

Dear Martinez,

Loose Gravel poured around a skatepark is NOT "landscaping" and a dirt field with potholes that turns into mud-gravel and huge puddles is NOT a "parking lot"

Also if youre wondering why all the skaters and bmxers are still destroying the ledges at the new Amtrak station its because theres lights. Its hard to "enjoy" the skatepark you built to keep kids off the sidewalks, when it gets dark at 7:00.

sincerely,
angry skater and taxpayer

Later that day I see the local Contra Costa Times on the kitchen table and felt compelled to write this...


To Whom It May Concern,

Last weekend I was skating at the skatepark, and some uncoordinated kids showed up with their parents. Too scared to roll in on their brand new Walmart bmx bikes... the sister of these kids was on some lame bike with a purse attached to the handlebars..

photo from CCtimes

anyway, I see the cover of the Contra Costa Times today and its that same little girl, on her stupid bike with familiar graffiti in the background with the headline "Smile Youre on Camera" .

The article was about how Martinez is going to spend "$25,000 to install surveillance cameras in hotspots for graffiti and other crime, including the skate park at the marina and the Alhambra Avenue Safeway."

Heh, Tom, Marco and I were there when they took the photos for this article. How nice of them to actually ask SKATERS what they think.

whats that say? NO BIKES? interesting.

So, you can't pour real pavement for a parking lot, put in lights, or landscape the skatepark with something that doesn't cause skaters to crash, but you can spend our money for spying on kids? $25000 well spent guys. Graffiti is the problem with this park?

"Rather than putting money into ineffective cameras that are invasive to our privacy, law enforcement should put money into foot patrols, improved lighting and community policing," said Mark Schlosberg from the ACLU.

No fucking shit.

I wonder if those cameras will be used to stop all the kids from illegally riding bikes in there... including the kids in these photos. I'd like to ad that bike tires track in the gravel.

where's your skateboard you tard?

I'm willing to bet that those kids' parents wrote this article and this trip to the skatepark was a planned photo-op for the CC Times. and to top it off... they took their kids(on bikes) to get photos of kids "playing" (also known as getting-in-the-way) in a SKATEpark Nice one. you know what else? ..your kids are dorks.


link... http://www.contracostatimes.com/searc...mp;nclick_check=1

the graffiti does suck. It's misspelled, drawn horribly and some of it was even done in pink house paint by a local bum. But it doesn't make the park unsafe or unskatable. it just looks like crap... but in a way adds charm to the skatepark.

My gripe is with the city leaving the park, what i think is unfinished giving the implication that it ran out of money for such things, but then can spend money on this.

I hate city politics... god dammit I really need to go to the city council meetings .. possibly run for something too. this city's decisions are being made by a bunch of stupid uppity windbags.

thanks for your time.
Muddyfeet Sprainedwrist