"Yes" to Youth: Space to Grow Up

By Carla Miles

"Like its politicians and its wars, society has the teenagers it deserves." (John Boynton Priestley)

Will the years our youth spend here in Vista be fun and productive before adulthood... or frustrating and lonely? Let's give them all the space they need to gain confidence, be with friends and develop the skills they will need for better adult lives.

And in building the new civic center, Vista took away a skate park with the promise to give something back. One idea proposed by the city about a year ago was a replacement skate area: a "ditch" near Santa Fe/Mercantile streets. Since I have not heard anything more on that, I propose we honor our promises to youth and maybe carve out space in our older parks.

We have trouble anyway with the costs to maintain these grounds, so it seems that an alternative is reasonable. Can we make use of free dirt (for dirt bikes) and leftover concrete to create streetscape elements (for skaters)?

Not only should it be cost-effective, but it will also be safer for kids. Having dedicated areas for youth in Vista Parks, away from traffic, would probably spare parents the grief of losing a son/daughter or the experiencing, for the rest of life perhaps, the pain of hitting, hurting or killing someone's child.

We have an annual effort of community service to beautify neighborhoods, so how about Vista residents just take a weekend, get together and show support for all of our youth? Donate some dirt or concrete, officially designate the space available in the parks and let's just get something good done for kids NOW.