City officials fill iconic Venice Beach skate park with sand: 'We’re doing this for our safety'

The Venice Beach skate park is one of Los Angeles’ most iconic landmarks. It’s a highly trafficked local hangout, a popular tourist destination and has served as a setting for dozens of movies through the past several decades.

And now it’s a sandbox. That’s because on April 16, the city government poured huge amounts of sand into the park in order to deter visitors. According to KTTV, the move came as a result of the Los Angeles Safer at Home Order, which has left the city’s parks closed since mid-March.

The order has shut down nearly all recreation facilities, including golf courses, public beaches and of course, skate parks. However, city officials said there were plenty of eager skaters who disobeyed those rules.

“We’ve had continuous violators … and we want them to stop,” Rose Watson, a spokesperson for Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation, told KTTV. “We want them to follow the orders because the skate parks are closed until further notice. It’s for the health and wellness of all L.A. residents.”

The parks department reportedly used a bulldozer to transport the sand from the beach, which they then dumped throughout the area. Additionally, the skate park was marked off with caution tape.

Those measures have been absent at other skate parks, but city officials said that could change if people continue to disobey stay-at-home laws.

“We’re doing this for our safety, their safety and the safety of others,” Watson told KTTV. “When this is all over, trust me, we will open them, but right now it’s important for them to not use the skate parks.”

If you liked this story, check out our article on how Google Earth is providing online tours of national parks.

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