Digging in public land

[LordeFarquaad]

I live in Kentucky. Near my house is a man made pond with a man made spillway that always reminded me of bmx quarter pipes. I was wondering how illegal it would be for me to take a shovel and dig out the sides a little then smooth out the middle to make it into 4’ tall dirt quarter pipes to ride. It wouldn’t take much and would hardly even be noticeable, but could I get into trouble for this, since I don’t own the land?

 

[LdiJ]

I live in Kentucky. Near my house is a man made pond with a man made spillway that always reminded me of bmx quarter pipes. I was wondering how illegal it would be for me to take a shovel and dig out the sides a little then smooth out the middle to make it into 4’ tall dirt quarter pipes to ride. It wouldn’t take much and would hardly even be noticeable, but could I get into trouble for this, since I don’t own the land?

Well, I totally do not understand at all what you are asking. I am not sure anybody else here will either. Can you try to reword your question and add a little more information?

 

[quincy]

I live in Kentucky. Near my house is a man made pond with a man made spillway that always reminded me of bmx quarter pipes. I was wondering how illegal it would be for me to take a shovel and dig out the sides a little then smooth out the middle to make it into 4’ tall dirt quarter pipes to ride. It wouldn’t take much and would hardly even be noticeable, but could I get into trouble for this, since I don’t own the land?

Who owns the land?

If you don't own it then, yes, you potentially can get into trouble for trespassing and altering the land.

 

[adjusterjack]

In Kentucky you might even get shot.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

What makes you think for a second that you have the right to even walk on the land much less damage it by digging it?

 

[quincy]

LordeFarquaade does say in the title that it is "public land" - but what sort of public land needs to be known.

He might be able to interest the (federal, state, local) owner into building a quarter pipe course.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

I actually saw that in the subject. But my question still stands an I will add why does he think it is public land.

I'm thinking that a person that wand to dig on a levy so they can skateboard may not have a full understanding of the, well, anything.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Well, I totally do not understand at all what you are asking. I am not sure anybody else here will either. Can you try to reword your question and add a little more information?

Think of Shaun White (snowboarding halfpipe Olympic living legend) but a bike instead.

I think OP has a very bad idea.

There are also, in addition to the obvious liability issue that the entity owning the land would wish to avoid (attractive nuisance), there is also the issue that the spillway is there for a reason, designed and shaped as it is for a reason, and OP's project could make it …. less effective at the purpose it was designed for.

Here is an example of people doing this at Splish Splash on Long Island.

They got in trouble. As in arrested.

 

[quincy]

Think of Shaun White (snowboarding halfpipe Olympic living legend) but a bike instead.

I think OP has a very bad idea.

There are also, in addition to the obvious liability issue that the entity owning the land would wish to avoid (attractive nuisance), there is also the issue that the spillway is there for a reason, designed and shaped as it is for a reason, and OP's project could make it …. less effective at the purpose it was designed for.

Here is an example of people doing this at Splish Splash on Long Island.

They got in trouble. As in arrested.

It is both perplexing and a bit amusing when young people think it smart to videotape their crimes.

I know of one community in my area that listened to the pleas of bikers and built a quarter pipe course.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Our town build a skateboard park. It became very messy with trash everywhere. The city put a padlock on the gate.

The following week end the lock was cut, it was cleaned, a new lock was installed and the key slid under the door at the parks department.

Everyone still thinks it was the local ortho surgeons who cleaned it up.

 

[not2cleverRed]

It is both perplexing and a bit amusing when young people think it smart to videotape their crimes.

I know of one community in my area that listened to the pleas of bikers and built a quarter pipe course.

The community where this happened has a reasonably priced skate park that the bikers could have used - $5/day for nonresidents. Annual fee for residents $10. However, it would not be as "epic" in terms of size as Splish Splash.

The cost of maintaining such parks is steep, and things are constantly in need of maintenance.

Structures used for these activities get damaged very easily, especially if not designed to be used for that use. My neighbors had over $1500 damage to their pool deck from trespassing skateboarders. The damage was due to the excessive wear and tear caused by the activity, not by someone trying to smash things.

The incident at Splish Splash resulted in $20,000 in repair/inspection costs for the owners, if I recall correctly. They had just spent hundreds of thousands resurfacing the slides.