The city of Oakland says skateboarders need to immediately stop using a homemade skate park in order for the park to possibly gain legal status in the future.
A group of skaters last year built the park, where Ninth Street dead-ends into Interstate 880 in West Oakland.
Jennifer Riggs, one of several supportive residents, says it’s been a positive development in an area blighted by trash dumping and other dangerous activity.
“Do we want a skate park there, or do we want what happened to the skate park that used to be under the highway?" she said. "It's a homeless encampment, where disgusting, terrible health hazard dumping occurs every single day.”
On a sunny Thursday afternoon, a half-dozen skaters used the homemade park -- most of them said they helped build it and that they come here nearly every day. The overwhelming sentiment was one of pride, both for cleaning up an eyesore and helping to build something of value.