Green Season: Marsh Street Skate Park

Marsh Street Skate Park
Originally uploaded by CD-13

Open space is a scarce resource in Los Angeles, where less than half an acre is available to every 1000 residents. Recreational space is an even more precious commodity, as less than a third of Angeleno youth live within a half mile of a safe space to play.

Shortly after taking office, I was approached by members of St. Anne’s Church and Elysian Valley United, concerned about the lack of viable alternatives for their children and their families in one of the city’s park-poorest communities. Working with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust (LANLT), we identified a space that had once been part of a glass factory and were able to transform it into an active skate park that will be run year-round by the LANLT.

Six years later, we joined with those very same constituents and our new partners to christen the new Marsh Street Skate Park, along with scores of young skaters and a live band.

Marsh Street Skate Park is the first of three new parks that will open in CD13 during the next month. These are the 18th, 19th, and 20th parks that have been opened since I took office in 2001. We'll reach a total of 33 parks in CD13. The green season for CD13 is in full bloom.