Parents call for facilities upgrade at popular Palmwoods skatepark

NewsCommunity

25 May

**The skate park is a popular venue after school where kids teach each other how to do various tricks and manoeuvres.**

A group of parents recently met with Division 5 Cr Winston Johnston to discuss the need for improved facilities at the Palmwoods skate park.

Palmwoods resident, Michelle Young explains “There are many responsible parents who accompany their children to the skate park to supervise them and make sure they are being respectful of others and the skate park grounds. Many of these parents also bring younger children and babies when they are supervising the kids using the park, so it is really important that there is a toilet and bubbler at the grounds for everyone to use.

“The cricket club has the lease over the sports grounds and recently extended one of their fences out into the shaded area where some parents sat in the afternoon to escape the sun. This took away the option to climb over the small fence and access the toilets behind the tennis courts in the cricket club house. A lot of parents who attend the skate park were unaware there was a toilet block behind these facilities, so many are driving into town near the hall to use the toilets.

“Having visited a number of skateparks around the coast, I found that many had half shade sails and a bubbler for the kids to drink out of, as well as seating. Our local skate park is well loved and used by many people from Palmwoods and the surrounding areas, and the parents often clean up the grounds and remove any rubbish that gets left around. A lot of us carry a broom or a blower in our cars to clean out the bowl as sometimes when council mows the area, they leave the grass clippings in the bowl and on the pathways which become a slip hazard to the children.”

Councillor Johnston has committed to fund construction of a shade sail for the park with $42,000 that has been allocated in next year’s budget.

“I am also currently investigating the cost of erecting two seats, and a water bubbler,” Cr Johnston said. “Now that I am aware of the situation I will endeavour to find a solution to the provision of access to neighbouring toilet amenities for users of the skate park.”

This is all promising for the families concerned. “For me the number one priority was to get access to the toilets behind the swimming pool and in plain sight from the skatepark,” said Michelle. “Anything else will be a very nice bonus”.