General News
1 December, 2022
Campaigning pays off as Maryborough’s new skate and scooter park opens to community
“Actually seeing it laid out in concrete compared to on paper — it’s definitely nicer than I thought, it exceeds my expectation. “The park has definitely got its beginner aspects up to things that are for people with more advanced skills...
Maryborough’s long awaited skate and scooter park has been completed and is ready for use, four years after more than 1000 residents petitioned council for a new facility.
Maryborough’s Skate and Scooter Park, while yet to be officially opened, is now accessible to the public with an official opening slated for early next year.
The new facility, delivered by Grind Projects, is jointly funded by the Victorian Government, Community Bank Avoca, Maryborough and St Arnaud in partnership with the Maryborough Lions Club and the Central Goldfields Shire Council to the tune of $685,000.
Signage and minor landscaping works are still to be carried out at the site, located at the Adventure Playground at Princes Park, but it marks the end of a four-year push by local residents to get a new facility off the ground.
In 2018, a petition containing more than 1000 signatures was presented to council calling for a new facility to replace the existing skate park on Majorca Road, which was recognised as outdated.
Local skater Edward Thiele was among those to sign the petition and said to finally have a new facility was a big plus for the town.
“This has been a long time coming and looking at the old park compared to this one, there’s no comparison, the new park is way beyond standard,” he said.
“Actually seeing it laid out in concrete compared to on paper — it’s definitely nicer than I thought, it exceeds my expectation.
“The park has definitely got its beginner aspects up to things that are for people with more advanced skills.
“Anyone of any age can come and use the facility here, it doesn’t matter whether you’ve done it before — this will be a great place to start learning, it’ll be good for everyone.”
Throughout 2019 and 2020, council held several information and community engagement sessions to determine the Skate and Scooter Park’s design and its preferred location.
The initial concept plan was developed by skate park design and construction experts Convic, who facilitated design sessions with community members.
The Skate and Scooter Park has been designed to respect the heritage of the site and to accommodate a range of wheeled sports including skateboarding, scooter riding, roller blading and BMX riding.
The design incorporates spectator seating and viewing areas plusshade structures.
It also enables passive surveillance for parents and carers from several directions, including the adjacent facilities like the Adventure Playground and barbecue area.
Central Goldfields Shire mayor Grace La Vella said it was incredibly exciting to see the project complete and ready for use.
“The Maryborough Skate and Scooter Park was a priority project for council and was identified after more than 1000 youths signed a petition in 2018 for a new skate park and presented it to council,” she said.
“Hats off to Grind Projects who have worked overtime and battled extraordinary weather to complete the skate and scooter park ahead of the revised construction schedule.
“The facility is now able to be used and enjoyed by the community, with an official opening to celebrate and acknowledge the contribution by all to the project to be held in the New Year.
“This competition standard facility will not only have a broad range of health and wellbeing outcomes for our local community, but it will also be utilised by residents of all ages and abilities in our neighbouring townships.”
Community Bank Avoca, Maryborough and St Arnaud’s Julie Driscoll said the project would support the community long-term.
“This is an infrastructure project that is long term and is going to be here for decades to come,” she said.
“This is also a demographic that’s new to us, it’s part of the community that might have felt left out previously so to support this was great.
“We also had a lot of buy in from skaters which showed the community support and the amount of time the community put into making sure the facility is what they wanted showed the passion that was there for this.”