Malibu Closes Down Skate Park, Citing COVID Concerns

MALIBU, CA — When they called it a “temporary skate park,” they meant it.

After just 10 days, the city of Malibu announced Sunday that it would be closing its new skate park down “due to current COVID-19 conditions, and to protect the health and safety of visitors and City staff.”

The skate park is adjacent to Malibu Bluffs Park, which is also closed.

The news comes as skyrocketing coronavirus numbers have caused a number of renewed closures, including indoor dining, movie theaters, and bars in LA County. The Los Angeles Unified School District also announced Monday that students would not be returning to campus in the fall.

City Manager Reva Feldman told KBUU News that sheriff’s deputies have been called in multiple times to enforce skate park rules, which included a maximum of 12 people and a 1-hour time limit.

Feldman also said that people often refused to wear masks and congregated too close for comfort. Feldman said the same was true of Bluffs Park athletic fields.

The park, which was the first skate park in Malibu in almost a decade since Papa Jack’s was closed down in 2011, opened on July 3, and accepted six online reservations per day. The online reservation system is now closed down, and current reservations have been canceled, according to the city website.

“We hope to reopen the Skate Park as soon as possible, and apologize for the inconvenience this may cause to our local skaters,” the site said.