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F E B R UA RY, 2 0 21
WHERE WILL THE CHILDREN PLAY? BY ALLISON HORE he plans for a skatepark at Leichhardt Park have hit another roadblock after council voted to put the parks plans under an extra layer of scrutiny. The move will mean the decade-long decision making process for a new Inner West skatepark will be drawn out even longer. The vote follows lengthy debate as to whether the proposed skate park’s location was suitable after councillors John Stamolis, Vittoria Raciti, Rochelle Porteous and Marghanita Da Cruz tabled a motion to look for a “more suitable” location for the skate park. Councillor Stamolis told the council in December he was not against a skate park being built in the area, but thought the chosen location by the foreshore in Leichhardt Park was unsuitable. “Many of us are still wondering how and why this location was chosen for a skate park in the first place,” he said. He said in the process of selecting the location for the park there was “very little consultation” and when the plan was revealed there was “huge public opposition.” He also said the skate park would cut into what little green space there is available. “Our green space is like gold, we have so little of it in our municipality,” Mr. Stamolis told the council. Also referenced in the motion were concerns from La Montage, a harbourside function center. Their worries included practicalities including proximity to the function center’s kitchen and delivery areas as well as concerns about the kind of crowd the skate park would attract. They said security around the park would be hard to manage and worried “any problem events or behaviour will dramatically impact on the business.”
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Leichhardt skatepark controversy leaves kids lacking
“Placing a skate park next to a function and event centre is unheard of.”
“NOT IN MY BACKYARD”
But with skateboarding becoming increasingly mainstream, to the point it has even been accepted as an Olympic sport, is it valid to worry about anti-social skaters? Skate Now is a mobile skate school “safe and fun skateboarding lessons” for both groups and individuals of all ages. Over the past six years the school has run a large number of programs at school aftercare and vacation care centres within the Inner West local government area.
I believe there’s a nimbyism at play They told the Inner West Independent the move to block the skatepark in Leichhardt was “disappointing” and said it sounds similar to the situation with a skatepark which was planned in Rushcutters Bay. “In both instances, I believe there’s a nimbyism at play that’s based on an outdated and inaccurate perception of who skateboarders are and what kind of culture a skateboarding facility would bring to an area,” they said. “There is a small minority of people who still believe the 90’s era stereotypes of skateboarding and the association with things like rowdy behaviour or being a ‘slacker’.” Skate Now says the demographics of skaters are changing, with kids learning to skate from a much younger age and skate parks now becoming a hot spot for families. “We are also seeing a lot of mums and dads riding with their kids, and these days there is a lot more participation in the sport by female riders of all ages,” they said. Continued on page 4