This article quotes Josh Rabinowitz, SkateboardDirectory.com publisher.

REIDSVILLE -- For Chris Kernodle, Joshua Goins, Joey Walker and Josh Combs, skateboarding is a daily ritual.

Fifteen-year-old Kernodle said he skates "every day, so I can become a pro skater."

Often the Reidsville quartet -- all of whom have been skating a few years -- picks places along their neighborhood streets and sidewalks to practice.

Or, sometimes an adult will take them to 915 Skate Park, a privately owned park near downtown Greensboro.

But, with more and more youths, like the group in Reidsville, latching on to the popularity of skateboarding, a trend is starting.

Many municipalities in the Triad are planning or seriously considering building public skate parks.

"I think nationwide it's a trend," said Mark Bush, manager of the special facility and operation division of the Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department.

"Unless private industry has a niche, municipalities are somewhat pressed to do something because of the popularity of it."

Both the Madison-Mayodan and the Thomasville recreation departments are planning to open skate parks in the spring.

The park in Madison and Mayodan cost $10,000 and was funded by a state grant. The park is scheduled to open in May, said Dixie Penn, director of the Madison-Mayodan Recreation Department.

"At first, I think people thought it was a fad, but I think they're finding out that it's not," Penn said.

Thomasville has spent about $75,000 on a skate park scheduled to open in April.

The city is converting some old tennis courts that weren't getting much use, said Billy Freeman, the recreation director in Thomasville.

Freeman said skate parks have become a big topic in the recreation community.

"In the recreation magazines, it's really gotten popular," he said.

At conferences, "there's always a session on skateboarding now where used to be you wouldn't hear about that," he said.

Eden is including plans for a $70,000 skate park in a grant proposal it is submitting to the state next month, and officials in Asheboro, Burlington and Greensboro all say they have discussed the possibility of building skate parks in their cities.

"We see there is a need for this type of facility," Bush said.

For a while, liability from lawsuits was a concern for municipalities considering skate parks. "Those of us that have not been involved in skateboarding say, 'That looks dangerous,' especially what we see on TV," Freeman said.

But in July 2003 *, the General Assembly enacted a law that limits the liability to cities.

"Basically, it says that if you as a municipality pass an ordinance the requires safety equipment be worn in the park, then put signage at the park saying the same things, then that lessens the risk," Freeman said.

Josh Rabinowitz, publisher of SkateboardDirectory.com, said part of the allure of the sport is its individuality.

"Skateboarding is totally approachable," he said. "All you need is a skateboard and flat concrete. It's affordable, cheap and available everywhere."

Rabinowitz said, in his experience, most of the skate parks being built are public facilities.

"There's a statistical realization that more people skateboard than play baseball," he said.

"People are looking around their cities and saying 'why are there so many baseball diamonds and nothing for skateboarders?' The demand is there."

Search this site for more about Skateboard Parks Catching *