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We would like to propose that Wellington City Council fund or partially fund & support a Covered Outdoor Skate Park – primarily aimed at those between 8–16 years of age – but for all interested Wellingtonians, designed for skateboarding and scootering. The park design is an integral part of our submission. We will form a committee of skateboarders and interested parties to approve the design of the park to ensure it is both appropriate and innovative. Internationally leading examples of skate parks are the well known Venice Beach bowls in Los Angeles, Lincoln City covered skate park in Oregon, or many of the newer parks in the US (all concrete poured in place skateparks). These are unlike anything currently existing in Wellington. These are the reasons we think a Covered Outdoor Skatepark is required and should be supported by the Council:
§ Wellington is a city with temperamental and often harsh weather, so weatherproofed entertainment is needed – particularly for youths 8-17 years of age – at all times of year. A well designed, covered outdoor skate park would still provide some of the benefits of being protected from the weather, without requiring ongoing staff and other overheads that can be costly and prohibitive with any permanent indoor facility. A covered park would also provide sun protection when the weather is fine.
§ In bad weather, the only indoor 'walk in' council sporting facilities are the Kilbirnie Rec Centre – which is often closed/booked and not permanently configured for skating (the floor surface is not ideal for skateboarding or scootering, having been designed for basketball) – and indoor swimming pools. Other indoor (non-Council funded) activities appropriate for this age group are expensive and occupy short periods of time, such as go-karting, bowling, lazer force, cinema. These are not an affordable option for many pre-teens and teenagers, or their rate-paying parents. The low cost of participation in skateboarding makes it accessible to everyone. To get into skateboarding and scootering one only needs a skateboard or scooter and a place to do it.
§ Youth population numbers between the ages of 8-16 in the Wellington Region are around
18,800 (2006 Census). Currently younger children in the Wellington Region are reasonably well supported with affordable indoor entertainment options (both Council and non-Council funded). The 8-16 age group has very little in the way of affordable recreational indoor facilities on offer.
§ With obesity and health concerns for this age group at high levels in New Zealand and rising, we should support all physical activity especially in inclement weather. Skateboarding is a low cost activity and you don’t often see an overweight skateboarder. Lots of skateboarders skate several times a week and often for hours at a time. There is clearly a commitment for these kids to develop their skills yet they do this without coaches, teams and often without even an appropriate place to do it.
§ We feel that skateboarders are currently under-served in Wellington.
Other centres around New Zealand have dedicated skate parks supported by their Councils. For example, Auckland has 36 outdoor skate parks (all except 1 council funded & built), whereas the Wellington Region has only 7 – Waitangi Park, Island Bay Skate Park, Nairnville Park (ramp), Plantation Reserve, Tawa, Ian Galloway Park (ramps), and Newlands. This leads to problems such as skateboarders skating on public roads (we’ve seen this happening down Tinakori Road as well as Raroa & Aro Streets), which can only lead to preventable accidents and potentially, deaths. Providing a good skate destination is a positive way of keeping people in safe places & not skating in more dangerous locations.
§ Skateboarding and scootering are very popular in Wellington, and has been for some
time. The outdoor skate park at Waitangi Park is always well populated in fine weather, but is unable to be used when the weather is bad. Demand and popularity of this park is sustained despite the park being now 8 years old (2006) and not very large for the number of users. The ‘back and forth’ skate design is one style of skateboarding, and the bowl is for fairly advanced skate use. We envisage a new park would compliment what
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the WCC Council is already providing at Waitangi Park, but be very different in design.
§ Skateboarding is also a popular spectator sport. Wellington recently hosted another successful ‘Bowlarama’ event at Waitangi Park in early February. Bowlarama has had 8,000 online viewers already this year, and around 22,000 last year. The event in Wellington was also screened live to air on Freeview TV in NZ. Past events in Wellington include the Vodfone X-Air, which was a very successful event previously supported by WCC. Having a new innovative skatepark can enhance Wellington’s reputation for being a vibrant city, that embraces its youth, and provide another site for similar events. The Waitangi Park Bowl has only capacity for around 1000 spectators – more people would watch if there was a bigger arena to view from.
§ Christchurch and Invercargill have recently awarded tenders worth over 3.6 million dollars
to build skateparks in their cities (Christchurch Washington Way Reserve Skate Park $2,996,699, Invercargill Skate Park $750,000), with completion dates in 2014. Hastings District Council opened an innovative skatepark in late 2013 (William Nelson Park), that takes up 2000m2 of land. This park has an on-site park supervisor with a small kiosk. Hamilton Roller Skating Club built a large cover (2006) over an outdoor skating rink in Melville Park – the council provides the land at a ‘peppercorn’ rental yearly amount, the club built the cover with funding (photos attached). This cover cost $270,000 to build.
§ Skateparks demand very little in terms of ongoing maintenance costs. When a skate park
is built correctly it will require virtually no structural maintenance for years. The preferred style of a ‘poured concrete in place’ skatepark only requires cosmetic maintenance.
Wellington is a vibrant capital city in need of a large dedicated covered space for skateboarding/scootering – as a city we should be leading the way. The most important factors in choosing a site are these ones: visibility, accessibility, design canvas, amenities & infrastructure, barriers to ‘shovel ready’ and impact to surrounding environment. We feel an appropriate location for the skatepark could be at Ian Galloway Park in Northland, alongside the existing ramps (currently a dog exercise area). There is an adjacent grass area that is unused, (also in Ian Galloway Park, SE area) which could be an option for a new dog exercise area, so they don’t miss out. We would require a drinking fountain at the location. If Ian Galloway Park is not an option, an alternative location could be the nearby Appleby Park which is council land not specifically purposed. The skate park would use approximately 1/5th of Appleby Park – the ramps at Ian Galloway could potentially be relocated there also. Both these Parks are away from immediate residential dwellings and have ample parking. Appleby Park also has the advantage of being right on a bus route, and having ample additional land for potential future expansion. They are also situated in between Karori (Wellington’s largest suburb) Northland & Kelburn, and close to Wadestown & Wilton. These Western suburbs have a combined youth population between 8-17 years of 3,624 (2006 Census). The land is already council owned, and there is potential for design expansion at a later date if required. Covered options include a large sail – such as that at the TSB Arena Concourse – and a wooden or metal open-sided roof (see Oregon Skate Park images). Being arson proof is a consideration, and a lipped design to prevent water from entering and being retained in any bowls. We also propose approaching others for financial support and potential naming/sponsorship benefits – Lions, Lotteries Commission, Community Trusts, Corporate Wellington, Skate Sponsors such as Vans. Go Pro etc. – for additional funding beyond what WCC can provide. We anticipate a budget/cost for the Park would be around $500,000 – $700,000.
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Lincoln City Skatepark - Oregon USA Example of a covered skatepark ‘Hybrid parks is term for a design that fuses street and transition elements together. Hybrid parks have become more popular recently as skateboarders push to expand their capabilities. For several years a need for more street terrain created tension in the skatepark advocacy community as adult skaters tended to promote transition parks while the younger, less involved skaters were being ticketed for skating in inappropriate areas’
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Covered Roller Skate area in Melville Park, Hamilton. Land rented yearly from Hamilton City Council, cover built and run by the Hamilton Roller Skating Club. Cover cost $270,000 to build in 2006.
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Burnside Skatepark - Portland, Oregon
FDR Skatepark - Philadelphia, Penn.
Venice Beach Skatepark
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YMCA Skatepark – Mukilteo, Washington
Orca’s Island Skatepark, Washington
