Skateboarders get park

Cape Girardeau's first skateboard park is on an old tennis court. There are a few metal ramps, a couple of rails and a platform.

But it's there, and it's open, and that's more than skateboarders could say before. Prior to the new skateboard facility's opening in little-used Missouri Park at Fountain Street and Park Drive, skateboarders were stuck using homemade ramps, city sidewalks and streets and parking lots.

The Cape Girardeau Evening Optimists donated $15,000 to pay for the park's equipment. City parks department crews painted the tennis court surface and the rusting fence around it.

The city has posted a sign on the fence that recommends all users wear helmets and other protective gear. There have been some complaints that smaller children wander into the area unattended. If the park is to stay open, parents have to take responsibility.

If the park is used how it is intended, there's no reason why it can't be expanded in the future.