Devonport skateboarders unhappy with park improvements

Devonport skateboarders are unhappy with a new drainage system being installed at their local skatepark, saying it might make things even worse and and cause accidents.

The work is an attempt to fix flooding that occurs in the skate bowl and other areas of the park.

Trenches have been made through the flat area of the park, which will have drains put in to mitigate the flooding issues.

But a local skateboarder, Guy Bellerby, says the skatepark already has issues with the ramps and concrete base subsiding at different rates which causes cracks at the base of the ramps.

He believes making large cuts into the main slab of concrete will weaken the strength of the slab and make the base susceptible to the same cracks that are at the base of the ramps.

"If you have a 52mm [skate] wheel, a 2mm crack is a large thing to roll over. A tiny pebble will stop a skateboard, so if you purposely put a join in the high-speed area it's going to cause accidents."

Another local skateboarder, Kyle Svenson, says he is not convinced the work being done will improve the park as he believes the local board's track record in maintaining it is far from impressive.

"Every time you hear of them doing some sort of work, it never shows that it's worked. They get people to come and empty the bins and work on the [water] tap, but that's as much fixing as they ever do.

"You notice when you go down there locals will fix the gaps in the ramps so that it's safe. That's not the council doing it - that's local skaters doing it on their own terms."

Member of the Takapuna-Devonport Local Board Toni van Tonder says she understands the frustrations of skateboarders but the process of getting work done on the skatepark is more complicated than the public may realise.

"The pooling and ponding that happens in the skate bowl is something that can be fixed on the skatepark right now and it will hopefully help the skatepark limp along a little longer in terms of how usable it is.

"What can and can't be done at that skatepark is a bit of a problem because the area of land is owned by the closed-landfill team, and they determine what can and can't be achieved in that space."

Van Tonder says the skatepark is in less-than-ideal condition right now and needs more investment, consultation, and prioritisation from the board if all the existing issues are to be fixed.