Manhattan Beach Skate Park?

Manhattan Beach may finally have its own skate park by the end of the year.

Skateboarding advocates have long sought a safe and legal place for the sport in the city as an alternative to business and school parking lots, or trekking to facilities in El Segundo, Venice, Gardena and Hermosa Beach.

The City Council voted unanimously to pursue a $300,000 county grant to build a skate park in the northeast corner of Marine Avenue Park. The three locations up for consideration where: Marine Avenue Park, Manhattan Heights Park and a triangular spot near the beach in El Porto, with the latter proving least popular. The spot outside the baseball diamond’s outfield and adjacent to Manhattan Beach Studios emerged as the top choice after a lengthy public comment process that included workshops and an online survey.

The idea gained interest from Manhattan Beach leaders 15 years ago, but fell off the city’s priority list, resurfacing with a renewed call in the past few years at public meetings packed with skateboarders. One year ago, the City Council moved forward with hiring a consultant for $20,000 to assess the community’s need for a skate park and come up with options and funding ideas, but agreed to keep Polliwog Park off the table as a potential spot since the idea was met with strong opposition from neighbors.

The council has three options for the same corner of Marine Avenue Park, ranging from a 2,000-square-foot “skateable path” to a 5,000-square-foot, mixed elevation area that would replace an under-utilized exercise area. The skate spot would be open and unsupervised during normal park hours