Skateboarders Hope Dallas Pulls a 180 on Public Skate Parks as City Lags Behind Suburbs, Peers in Amenities

When Geovanni Alafita needs to decompress, he grabs his skateboard, drives over to Lakeland Hills Park and grinds."I love doing this," said Alafita, 22. "It keeps me sane. This is like my cigarette, it keeps me calm. People go running during the day, and I do this."But the park is one of his few options for skating in Dallas. And it's not great. The skating area of the park is small and the prefabricated equipment is haggard. The area doesn't have lights, which is fine for Alafita since he's in community college and works as a bartender at night. Others make do by bringing their own lights at night, Alafita said. Some simply leave Dallas to skate, finding refuge in the suburbs' massive skate parks that have plenty of bowls and halfpipes.Dallas city officials say they know many residents would use a public skate park, but they've never had the money or support to make it a priority. But now, an infectious disease doctor is pushing to solve all that with a private fundraising and lobbying effort.  Continue reading...