For Marcos Olascoaga, the push for a Mid-City skatepark is personal. He was hit by a car while skating two years ago. Above, Olascoaga explains how the incident motivated his work with the Mid-City Skatepark Advocacy Group.
By Manny Jimenez, Oscar Perez, Trevor Seines,
Beckett Browning, Eliana Weinthal, John Fields,
Alex Angleman and Tia Hill
Efforts to get mid-city skateboarders a place to skate have amped up in recent months, with the youth making media and public appearances to talk about their cause. But for Marcos Olascoaga, the fight started two years ago after being hit by a car while skating. For him and his peers, building a skatepark is a matter of necessity, not want.
Above, teen filmmakers in the Media Arts Center San Diego’s Teen Producers Project talk with Olascoaga, who has since gone on to college at Chico State.
“At first when we were working on the plan, we were thinking of opponents that were going to go against us, and in reality, many people do support a skatepark,” Olascoaga said.
With the help of Olascoaga, the Mid-City Skatepark Advocacy Group has won the support of the Mid-City Recreation Council, City Heights Area Planning Committee and councilmembers Marti Emerald and Todd Gloria. The group is currently looking for a site for the project so it can apply for grants.
Learn more about their plans in a report from KPBS reporter Tom Fudge and interview with group member Nick Ferracone. For more from Olascoaga, read an essay he submitted to our Voices section [en Español].