At 68,000 square feet, Lake Cunningham Regional Skate Park in San Jose is the largest in California. Photo: California Skateparks
When a city wants to build a park to contain its resident skaters, it turns to California Skateparks, one of the best skate park designers in the world.
How does a municipal project built for abuse get off the ground? We spoke to one of the company’s designers, Colby Carter, about the best design for a board.
First they start with the basics. Every park that California Skateparks builds has certain fundamental features, like ledges, banked turns and a transitional element such as a bowl or quarter pipe. Ledges are specifically important because they’re a feature that serves both beginners and professionals equally.
Stoner Skate Park in Los Angeles — the name refers to the street, not to the altered mental states of the people there — is a particularly beautiful, understated example of how a skate park incorporates design and function. The graceful swirls of painted artwork echo the “S” shapes of the park’s name, as well as the curves of a skateboarder’s lines as he or she moves from element to element.