Skateboarding is a crime in much of Boston. Devoting a small part of the land being freed up by the Big Dig to a skateboard park would benefit the city by giving kids and young adults a place to hang out and could reduce skating at other locales.

The Charles River Conservancy and pro skateboarder Vanik Hacobian are pushing for a new park on the Charles River Basin. Its location near the Esplanade makes this an ideal site for a park because the area is already popular for other athletic activities like jogging, sailing and bicycling. A skate park would fit in with the surrounding area and be a convenient, attractive site for boarders.

Although the project would cost some money to erect, it should not be very expensive considering Charles River Conservancy president Renata von Tscharner’s students designed one for the site during the 1999 Radcliffe Seminars. Furthermore, the park would make up for its expense with its benefits to Boston.

Giving kids a place to go after school will keep some of them off the street and out of trouble. Also, diverting skateboarding to a place designed for it will reduce police efforts to limit skateboarding and damage to municipal and private buildings from all the grinding that goes on at places like Government Center and Copley Square. Providing a safe haven for skateboarders will also encourage exercise in a country increasingly tending toward obesity.

Using some of the land that will soon be available from the Big Dig for a skate park makes sense both in terms of location and benefits to Bostonians’ quality of life. Besides, it is about time Boston gets its own level and representation in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. As long as it does not take 10 years and billions of dollars, there is no reason to bail on this reasonable and beneficial proposal.