Opening onto the center of a playground there is a yellow hexagonal bench that serves as the base of a flagpole. Skateboarders occasionally do tricks on this concrete structure, and this wears off the paint.
Someone - probably a maintenance person - occasionally emerges from the elementary school with a can of yellow paint to fix the minor tarnishes and conceal the exposed gray underneath. This, incidentally, reslicks the surface, rendering it once again skatable.
On this playground there are three other permanent structures that make the spot appealing to skateboarders. Because the park is below sidewalk level, the surface banks slightly uphill from the hopscotch courts toward the chain-link fence at the entrance. A skateboarder can ride up this shallow bank, do a trick, then ride back down. This is a good way to practice new maneuvers. The other two permanent structures are platforms, one at each set of firedoors that opens up onto the asphalt. These are useful for practicing manuals or for just jumping on and off.
The most useful obstacles, or at least the ones I find most appealing, are whatever debris has been discarded or forgotten on the playground. I've at times employed a fallen branch, a construction cone or boxes used to transport produce for the simple purpose of jumping them. None of these objects are impressively high, but I am not an impressive skater.
When it rains or is wet outside, it's unwise to skateboard, because the moisture will warp the board and make it soggy, which makes doing tricks more difficult. Also, getting mud on the grip tape makes it lose friction and creates problems of board control. It's also difficult to skate during the winter because falling on the pavement in the cold is recipe for injury, particularly when you are not young and light.
When the sun comes out, though, there are very few excuses.
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