Do skate park ledges need metal coping? Personally, I prefer waxed concrete street ledges. If the skate park could have perfectly durable concrete ledges, then that'd be awesome. Most skate park designers think concrete ledges aren't durable enough for skate parks, but I've skated fun street ledges that have been skated daily for years. And they work great. Some concrete ledges in parks suck though. I'm not sure if it's because people don't brick sand them & wax them like they do in the streets, if too many people skated it, or if skate park designers are using a less durable concrete that architects. Also, the metal coping sucks sometimes because it rusts. And the skate park design style can't compete with skate spots "accidentally" designed by professional architects. Metal coping is also extremely expensive. 6' of angle iron is about $25 (think about how much coping is in skate parks), whereas the same volume of concrete coping would cost 65 cents. Also, my favorite bank to grind in the skate park has no coping. It's just concrete. And the sound of a grind on concrete is way more satisfying than the silence of grinding on metal coping.
My vote is no... skate park ledges don't need metal coping. But I'd like to read your thoughts on the subject.