PATTERSON -- The Ledge is, by far, the most popular place in town for skateboarding.
Kids gather in groups of 20 or even 30 to practice their magic on wheels where the special feature is, well, a ledge.
No gnarly stairs, rails, ramps or bowls. Just a simple concrete curb behind the local hardware store.
Just about everyone agrees it's high time the West Side gets a real skate park. The tiny, above-ground facility in nearby Newman doesn't cut it, many skaters said.
If West Siders had a decent place to grind, "we wouldn't have to actually go all the way to Modesto, Turlock or Tracy," said sixth-grader D.J. Heinbaugh, naming cities with below-ground public skate parks.
Community leaders seem more than willing, but are having a tough time rounding up the estimated cost of more than $600,000.
City Council members did pay a renowned consultant $15,000 to design a skate park with the help of young volunteers, including Alex Cortez, 17, of nearby Grayson. Three years ago, he found a job helping to repair vacuum cleaners. "The first thing I did (with pay) was to go buy a board," he said.
He's tired of ducking police officers who chase boarders away from the Sherwin-Williams store, another place with barely skatable urban features.
"We just skate," Cortez said. "It's not like we're walking around in groups, you know, mugging little kids. There's nothing bad about it."
Wally Hollyday, 51, of Orange County has designed or built more than 100 parks across the country since 1977. He paid several visits to Patterson in recent months, three times to meet with skaters like Cortez, gather their wishlists and share what he knows works and what doesn't.
"If they're designed well, they attract a wide variety (of users) and are a great place to hang out," Hollyday said. Though skateboarders are most typically found at skate parks, it's quite common to see inline skaters and BMXers sharing space as well.
Hollyday's portfolio includes 50,000-square-foot moonscapes for larger cities. His final draft for Patterson, going before planning commissioners tonight, is a smallish 14,000 square feet, but it's "a good small design," he said.
Alvar Fitoioa, 11, who rides his skateboard to Creekside Middle School, sure hopes so. He can't wait for "a good grinding place," he said, like that shown in Hollyday's drawings.
But money remains a big problem.
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City parks officials have applied for grants from recreation foundations, without success. They should have a better shot later this year because the council recently approved spending $6,000 on construction documents, Councilwoman Annette Smith said.
"(Grantors) don't want to see a pretty picture," Smith said. "They want to see construction documents."
Smith's 9-year-old son, Ronnie, was a statewide silver medalist in his age group last summer. She hauls him to practice at an indoor, private facility in Riverbank and to public skate parks in Ripon, Tracy and the Bay Area.
"Not all parents can run all over the county for a kid's hobby," Smith said. "I wish he had taken up tennis."
The parent of a young skater who was fined for riding on a sidewalk donated $1,000 to a fund-raising effort for a new skate park. But that's a drop in the bucket when you need $600,000.
"It is extremely difficult, but I'm hopeful," Smith said.
Meanwhile, kids still congregate after school at The Ledge behind the True Value hardware store on West Las Palmas Avenue, within sight of the skate park site where the street meets Ward Avenue. It would be in a complex with the city's aquatics center, a senior center under construction and a future community center.
"It's going to be hecka cool because now we've got something to do," said sixth-grader Daniel Cota.
Next to skaters, Danny Saldivar might be first to welcome a real skate park. The True Value manager provides a broom and garbage can in an effort to coexist with boarders who make do for now with his Ledge.
"The deal we did with them is no trash and no disrespect to our customers," Saldivar said. "Overall, the kids have been pretty good."
Planning Commissioners will consider a skate park architectural and site plan review today at 7 p.m. in the City Council chamber, 1 Plaza, Patterson.
Bee staff writer Garth Stapley can be reached at or 578-2390 or gstapley@modbee.com.
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