Even though it is officially illegal for BMX riders to use the skate park in Hollister, the venue over the years has become a haven for both skaters and bicycle users. With overcrowding causing continued safety issues, though, local park leaders are looking into building a separate facility for BMX users on the nearby basketball courts.
The dynamic among skaters and BMX users has long existed at the Daniel Yetter Memorial Skate Park at Veterans Memorial Park in Hollister. There have been on-again, off-again issues with the space that is often shared by skaters and BMX riders – enough so that Hollister council members decided to crack down on bicycle users in 2005 with a call to increase enforcement, though the policy never amounted to much of a crackdown and the issue mostly fizzled out. The crowding problem also resulted in a previously failed attempt about a decade ago to build and operate a small BMX obstacle course nearby.
With urging from local skate park users and supporters within government ranks, a proposal is moving ahead requesting that the city and county each allocate $22,000 in park funding to build a new BMX course on the cement basketball courts there. Since November, the city and county parks and recreation agencies have been discussing the possibility while moving through the necessary hoops for an eventual approval.
Spearheading the effort, Hollister Parks Commissioner Laura Miller said she started surveying the skate park and talking to users about six to eight months ago, after a user had come to the parks commission to express concern about the crowding issue.
“Unfortunately, the commission really blew him off,” said Miller.
While she doesn’t have a personal attachment to the skate park – such as a relation to any users – she’s become the most outspoken advocate in favor of building the BMX facility. She and others have urged consideration of allocating the available funds to the project from both the city and county. She said she expects that a final consideration might go before the county board in early March and the Hollister council afterward – as Veterans Memorial Park is co-operated by the two government entities.
If it gains approval, project supporters hope to break ground immediately after the OK and have it done in 90 days. The project also would involve the formation of a “skate park volunteer committee” that would assist with maintenance, oversee building of new obstacles, help with placement of safety signs and other matters.
The obstacles would replace the basketball courts that would be closed not for a lack of use, but because there is an abundance of available basketball courts in the county, said Janelle Cox, a management analyst for the county public works department. The change, she said, would provide an opportunity for skaters or BMX users who want to further hone their skills without leaving town to find more adequate facilities.
One of those Hollister teenagers is 13-year-old Andrew Casarez, who takes part in competitions and even has an apparel sponsor. He and his family usually travel to the Bay Area or Atascadero for practice. He is gearing up for advancement in the sport, with many riders usually going pro at age 15 or 16. His mother, Lisa Hall, mentioned that “quite a few fathers” had stepped up to help in the BMX course effort as well.
“I’m happy that Hollister has finally realized we need something for them,” Hall said.
