Look before you leap (to conclusions)

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By Barb Ickes | Saturday, May 12, 2007 11:55 PM CDT | () comments

Pssssst.

You know what those rotten, no-good hoodlums are doing down at the Davenport skatepark?

Lean closer.

They’re skating.

Yes, the million-dollar concrete course is getting some unwanted color. Vandals, most certainly not all of them bikers and boarders, have been unloading cans of spray paint onto the skatepark surface. Big whoop. What’s so great about solid gray, anyway?

Fortunately, the folks at the parks department have been getting plenty of fresh air this spring and have avoided the strain of the nonsense virus that has infected much of City Hall.

Parks director Dan Sherman is advising aldermen to throw a couple thousand dollars a year at trying to control the content of the park graffiti, rather than spending many thousands to put up a fence and lights that won’t change a thing.

Many of the kids who use the park can ride a skateboard on their hands and can jump a picnic table with a bicycle. You think they can’t get over a fence?

Sherman smartly figures there are freelance artists who could paint some nonoffensive graffiti onto the concrete and cover up the gang symbols and vulgarities that pop up from time to time alongside the more artistic stuff.

And that’s an excellent idea.

Of course, plenty of people will hate it. They’ll scream about wasting tax dollars and about vandalism being a crime and about how teenagers are poison and whatever happened to good parenting? Let ’em scream. You simply cannot please some people.

It’s like Sherman said: “It’s (graffiti) part of the culture. I don’t know if we can beat it other than trying to manage it in a fashion that is acceptable to the community at large.”

Sounds like a solid solution. Not too expensive. No over-reacting. And he stuck the landing.

It’s the proposed $375,000 toilet and concession stand that more people are going to get excited about. If the vandals start spray painting a new riverfront amenity that is truly intended for everybody and not just the skating culture, it could get ugly.

Sherman ought to leave on his thinking cap for that one.

But here’s something really puzzling: The skatepark in Bettendorf doesn’t have any graffiti. No kidding. There’s a little splash of something on one sign, but nothing like the sprawling murals in Davenport.

I went over in the Friday afternoon heat, and the only thing I found offensive was some sweaty teenagers’ body odor (which no doubt will be banned if the council gets wind of it).

It’s possible that a couple of factors are sparing Bettendorf’s park from the spray can. First of all, it’s fairly close to the road on Devil’s Glen. Vandals would have a hard time being stealthy.

Also, at least on Friday afternoon, there was other activity at the park. A couple dozen guys were playing softball on a field just across from the skaters. Even gang members are smart enough to keep their advertising efforts as discreet as possible.

Perhaps the biggest difference is topography. The skatepark in Bettendorf is all above ground — nowhere to hide. The one at Centennial Park is largely below ground level — like a crater with a concrete maze inside.

In fact, you can barely see the graffiti unless you’re standing right over top of it. And how many adults, honestly, have bothered to go down there and look?

Before people get all excited about no-good teenagers ruining public property, and the city wasting taxpayers’ money, they ought to take a look at what they’re talking about. Not only is a majority of the graffiti not offensive, some of it is quite good.

The kids are having a good time, getting exercise outdoors and, from what I could see, staying out of trouble.

If it’s not broken, don’t put a fence around it.

Barb Ickes can be contacted at (563) 383-2316 or bickes@qctimes.com.