A younger point of view needed

One of the largest groups of Bellevue park users are children, youth and teens. Yet, when we go through one of these planning processes to set the direction for park development for the next ten years, who do we hear from the most? Adults.

Do you know what that means? Well, let me show you. Here are pictures of the bike, skateboard and tennis racket that I grew up with. So, the guy who owned these (me) is the same one who is writing this plan and most of the people I am hearing from had similar, if not more antiquated, sporting goods when they were young.

Biking, skateboarding and tennis are still going strong as popular sports, but definitely not in the same way as a couple decades ago. So, if you are a teenager or young adult, I would greatly appreciate it if you would read the other posts on this blog and add your comments, so that we can have a well-rounded discussion with many points of view represented.

As long as we are on the subject, here are some links to a few of the City's existing youth and teen programs. Some you may know about, some you may not. Youth Link is a youth leadership program - there is the award-winning Bellevue Youth Theatre - users of the Bellevue's Skate Parks have set up a blog here - and you can find out about youth sports and the TRACKS outdoor education programs as well.

**Just in case you don’t know, that wooden frame thing over the tennis racket head was supposed to keep the racket from warping. Unless you wanted to be laughed at, you’d take if off before you play.