Advocates collect signatures of support for a skatepark in West Baltimore
BALTIMORE -- On Tuesday night, community advocate Marvin Cheatham showed off the signatures he had collected in support of a West Baltimore skatepark.
Cheatham said the signatures are a response to a challenge Maryland State Sen. Antonio Hayes made about the amount of support the skatepark could garner.
Hayes had made it sound preposterous that as many as 10 people would support the construction of a skatepark.
So Cheatham went out and got 250 of them.
"It honestly broke my heart," skateboarder Ashley Daniels said of the city's decision to ditch its plans to build the skatepark.
Earlier this month, word spread that the million-dollar plan to revitalize the park only focused on overall improvements, like building a new playground, constructing a basketball court, and fixing the sidewalks.
The skatepark was no longer included in it despite years of advocacy work that went into its initial inclusion.
"We were completely blindsided," Skatepark Baltimore president Stephanie Murdock said.
Right now, the closest skatepark is in Hampden. Building one in West Baltimore would have given children who live in the area a chance to experience something new and uplifting, skateboarder Chrissy Brown said.
"Why take something away from children that could be helpful to them," she said.
Neighborhood residents tell WJZ that they plan on mailing the signatures of support for the skatepark to Hayes.
