Look, rag on Gresham on you want, but their skate park is pretty great: Opened in 2010, the Dreamland-designed skatepark is 5,700 square feet right downtown on Main Street.

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The only problem? No bikes allowed. The city council banned BMX bikes from the park a few months after the opening. They reasoned that bikes would scratch up the skatepark surface and were also a safety hazard. Somewhat dubious reasoning quote from the city: “If two skaters collide, it’s two people hitting each other,” said Mike Abbate, the city’s director of planning. “And if one has a bike, there can be serious injuries.”

Well, Gresham BMX riders and friends are not too psyched on being kept out of the park—or on city resources going to ticketing riders. Lack of fun places to ride BMX bikes has been kind of a big issue around Portland.

“The police are under a mandate to confiscate all bikes seen in the park,” says Kate Baker, who recently started a petition to allow bikes in the park. “Unfortunately Gresham has a small police force and as a tax payer I feel like their resources would be far better spent dealing with actual crimes.”

The BMX fans are planning to swarm the park with bikes this Sunday at noon. Will Gresham budge on the no bikes rule?

Update 1/11: Gresham’s city spokeswoman says that the police responded to 53 calls for service at the skate park last year and confiscated 10 bikes.

Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.

14 replies on “BMX Fans Plan Protest of Gresham Skatepark”

  2. If the bmxers wanted access to the park, they had plenty of time to raise their voices during the development stages, instead of waiting around while the skateboarding community made strides to get parks built all over Portland and the surrounding areas.

  4. I don’t think that it’s “dubious reasoning” from the city. As a skateboarder, I’ve seen some really shitty BMX-on-skater collisions at skateparks (the extra speed, weight, and bulk of bikes are all a factor), and yes, their grind pegs tear stuff up much worse than skateboard trucks.

    Generally I think it’s good to maintain separate facilities when possible. It costs more, but bikes and skateboards have quite different requirements in terms of terrain and space.

    The layout of that Gresham park is cramped enough as it is. Adding bikes into the equation would make it a total shit show.

  5. also, I wouldn’t be surprised if a bunch of skateboards “accidentally” fly out and hit these bikers during their occupy gresham skatepark bonanza.

  7. Build tracks/jumps in the fucking dirt. BMX bikes are meant for dirt, not concrete. Plus, when it comes to building parks, and maintaining parks, skaters do ALL the work. Build your own shit.

  11. In this time of severe economic constraint, is it too much to ask to share? We are talking about kids on bikes here not criminals.

  12. Safety issues aren’t a problem. The park doesn’t have to be shared at the same time — it could be worked out for BMXer’s to use it at specific times. GSP is not always being used. Just remember, that the BMXer’s were promised a park 15 years ago, and they’re fighting the same fight that skaters were. I would think that skaters would be more sympathetic because of this. Discrimination is discrimination, and we all need to stand together.

  13. If there’s a argument about danger, than what about when a skateboard flies out of a ramp and hits a person in the face? I’ve seen it, I actually witness a board fly out a quarter pipe almost every time I got to a park. plus how can, a 2007 Federal Land & Water Conservation Grant, 2007 WHH Foundation grant pay for something that not everyone can ride??? I’ve paid taxes on these, everyone has. So its okay to take money and build something that only a select group can use? sounds like discrimination to me, I feel really bad for the kids that can’t drive to a park that allows bikes. I can’t believe that the two sports are so similar but, yet there is such segregation between the two, its really mind boggling.

    The argument that bikes do damage is a load of BS, I don’t get how people actually think 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick hardened steel can be damaged, really? pegs damage those kinds of ledges and coping, there is absolutely no way a mild steel peg could even dent it. Most pegs, pedals, bar ends are made of plastic now. Now lets talk about kingpins, go look at the stair sets at Ed Benedict Skate park, look at the bottom of the stairs, you’ll see king pin chips in the concrete.

    ATTENTION, there was planning for bmx at the park when it was being built, but at the last minute they decided to make it skate only, A few locals and pro’s were on this project.

    Also BTW, Every time any person that rides bmx makes trails or lays concrete just like illegal Burnside or Marginal Way was made it gets shut down, I just got a fine for having wood ramps in my back yard actually, its funny how its seems its okay for one group of people to do something illegal but not okay for another group, so if bikes are only supposed to be dirt oriented than how come some many people kill parks on bike and why is it in the Xgames? It makes me sick that people think its okay to drop a ton of money on a sick park for skateboards and then dig up some lame race track junk, who’s really trying to race a track, its not the 70’s anymore, and if that’s how its going to be viewed than all skateparks should be only snake runs and no grinding, just like Salem ghetto.

    P.S. I always dry parks and rake leaves out of bowls, I never see any skaters actually do it except the Hood river locals.

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