A new turnstile would unlock only after a scanner read and recognized the thumbprint of anyone who wanted to enter, said Poway Community Services Director Robert Clark of the city's plan to curb vandalism and misbehavior at the park. Use of the park would still be free.

The system already is employed in parking lots, gyms and other facilities, but this may be the first time it would be used at a skate park, Clark said.

"To our knowledge, no one has this," Clark said. "If this works, you'll see a lot of cities jumping on this fast."

The City Council heard the proposal Tuesday but delayed a decision to allow staffers time to answer technical questions raised at the meeting. Clark said he does not know when the item will return to the council.

The preliminary cost of the turnstile and upgraded security cameras would be $50,000, according to the staff report.

Clark said the renovations would help the city monitor who is using the park. City Hall would maintain a database of the names, ages and fingerprints of people who register to use the park, he said. That information, with an upgraded camera system monitoring the park, will help keep skaters on their best behavior even when no one else is around, Clark said.

Besides keeping out those who want to deface the park, the turnstile also would make it difficult for people to bring in bicycles, which Clark said can damage the park's concrete surface.

The thumbprint scanner could be used to bar people caught vandalizing or misbehaving at the park, and it also could be programmed to allow only skaters of certain ages to use the park at specific times, Clark said. Sometimes younger skaters who are intimidated by older skaters will use local shopping centers, parking lots of basketball courts instead, Clark said, adding that designated skating times could keep the youngsters off those sites and get them back in the park.

Poway's skate park closes at 8 p.m. and is the only one in the area that is lighted and unsupervised at night. With the Rancho Penasquitos Skate Park closed for repairs and others closed after dusk, more out-of-towners have been using the Poway park recently, according to the staff report. Clark said the turnstile and upgraded cameras will decrease late-night loitering and drug and alcohol use that has been noticed near the park.

Some skateboarders at the park on Thursday were not keen on the idea of being fingerprinted.

"I think fingerprinting is going too far," said Poway resident Aaron Anderson, 27. Anderson said he didn't think the turnstile would be effective against stopping graffiti, anyway. "It'll make people resent it, and they'll go back to the street. It's a public park and it should be public."

But Anderson did agree that age restrictions at specific times would be good at the park. Poway resident Jonathan Malvaney said the turnstile would anger skateboarders, and brothers Shabir and Masud Raofi of Rancho Bernardo said they had their own doubts a

bout the system. "It's a bad idea," said Masud Raofi, 19. "They've got cameras already. And how much will it cost? There's got to be hidden fees." Contact staff writer Gary Warth at (760) 740-5410 or gwarth@nctimes.com. __________________

POWAY SKATEBOARD PARK BLOGGER - COMMENTS, COMMENTARIES, RANTS ETC. WELCOME. JUST BE NICE!!! This site is updated frequently Be sure to clear your web cache often and/or reload the page WARNING: NEWS AS OF Saturday, May 07, 2005 1:38:26 AM - KNEEPADS/ELBOWPADS/HELMETS MANDATORY or just less than 200ish Fine - JUST WEAR THEM HERE IN POWAY. SPREAD THE WORD. BOARDS IMPOUNDED AND FINES WITNESSED TODAY. cYask8.com Some of the pictures on this website do not depict full compliance of the rules. This website does NOT condone or represent those offenders and welcomes the full extent of the law for infractions. Suffice it to say that most of these "advanced" kids have paid their dues to reach the level of blackbelt skateboarding. Their choice is no different than a fully equipped football player that is injured for life during freak situations/conditions or a motocross biker flying 500 feet thru the air fully equipped and dieing or being mamed for life from a slight miscalculation. Most skaters that know their limits(such as myself) wear safety equipment. As the sport evolves, as in some states have made safety equipment optional, it is a well known fact that sports like skiing and snowboarding present similar dangers without forcing safety equipment. Enforcing safety equipment can prevent serious injury but that is up to the person who has decided skateboarding without equipment is blatant ignorance to their personal safety. More kids are getting hurt outside of skateboard parks than within. It is a fine line who decides and enforces the rules and here in Poway, these are the rules and should be honored. Enforcement is taking place and if you are an unlucky recepient of ticketing, this discussion is a moot point! CLICK FOR IMAGE DIRECTORY   Poway Skate Park The Poway Skate Park, located at 13090 Civic Center Drive, is 12,000 square feet of pool style concrete bowls and street elements. The park is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and is equipped with lights and bathrooms. Helmet, elbow, and kneepads are required at all times at this unsupervised park. An adult must supervise children under the age of 14 at all times. Park is subject to closure for violations of the rules. For a complete list of rules(click) or information call 858.668.4674 PQ Skateboard Park Was convincing the city to build the park difficult? The city of PQ had been beating the skate park idea around for close to six years. There was one failed attempt to build a mega complex on Hilltop Park nearby. Some years later, Caltrans found they had no need for a piece of land previously set aside for extra parking. The 23,000sq.ft. dirt pit turned out to be the ideal spot for a park and drew very little negative response After the park was voted into existence, the few people (like four) that own houses up a hill located at the backside of Carmel Mtn. Rd. began to show up and complain about noise and lighting. The city ended up just installing the light conduit and junctions for the fixtures only. When we have more data about the noise then maybe lights will become available. Until then the park will close at dark. ... more Name: • Subject: • Email: •   Message: