A petition calling for a new skate park in Traralgon has gained more than 1650 signatures following concerns about the isolated location of the existing park.
The group campaigning for the new park handed the petition to Latrobe City councillor Dale Harriman yesterday afternoon.
A skate park user flagged the park at the back of Agnes Brereton Reserve as an issue due to its isolated location next to the creek and the “outdated” and “unsafe” facilities and launched the petition with the help of some community members.
Petition organiser Joanne Campbell said a new skate park for Traralgon had been a “big talking point” in the community recently.
“We have a meeting with the LVA [Latrobe Valley Authority] and the council, so hopefully we will get some funding,” she said.
“We are exploring some potential sites …. [the site] has to work with everyone and get a good solution in the end.”
Latrobe City councillor Dale Harriman said he supported the call for a new skate park for Traralgon as the existing park was not “conducive to the users getting a safe environment”.
“I have been down there and spoken with the skaters and the scooter kids and other user groups like the tennis association and the people at the netball court … it is dark, it is unlit, it is not in a good state, it is out of the way and in an unseen area and a lot of undesirable activity happens down there,” he said.
“The skaters and scooters I’ve spoken to down there said there are times they don’t go because they don’t feel safe … and a lot of them are travelling up to Melbourne to The Shed or RampFest simply because the quality of what we have got in Traralgon is pretty average.”
Cr Harriman said dedicated Traralgon skaters and scooters, who were competing in their respective sports at a state, national and even international level, were having to travel to practice.
“The guys and girls I’ve been talking to … are so dedicated to their sport, they are really good kids,” he said.
“They have a passion for their sport, they are making national and state teams and are getting invites to events around the world and they can’t even practice in their hometown.
“I know the parents that have gotten involved … have been looking at areas where we might be able to put a new facility, they are looking at accessibility for the kids [and an] open, visible space, somewhere where we could put toilets and have shade and water.
Cr Harriman, who is also a Liberal Party candidate for the seat of Morwell, said the skate park would be something he would be fighting for in the upcoming state election.
The petition will be tabled at council and, once council officers have prepared a report regarding feasibility of the project, the issue will go before councillors later in the year.
