Why there might be fewer of these little metal points around Canberra soon

Skateboarders will be given freer rein throughout the city’s public spaces if the ACT Government chooses to adopt all 33 recommendations from a recent report on the state of Canberra’s skating scene.

The government formed the ‘Inquiry into Skateboarding and Skate Parks in the ACT’ in May 2023 on the back of two e-petitions, one asking for a refurbishment of the Gungahlin Skate Park and the other a full-on redevelopment of the Tuggeranong Skate Park.

These highlighted how there have been no new skate parks built in Canberra for more than a decade, and the concrete at Gungahlin, in particular, is “worn, cracked, with steel reinforcing bars poking through the surface”.

“Unfortunately, Canberra is beginning to fall behind in the provision and management of contemporary skateparks,” the Tuggeranong petition read.

The committee, chaired by Labor MLA Michael Pettersson, received six submissions and held one public hearing.

“Throughout this inquiry, the committee heard of the rich history and vibrant skating culture we have here in the ACT,” he told the Legislative Assembly when tabling the final report this week.

“However, the committee also heard that the skating features and facilities which have supported this history are now becoming outdated and run down, resulting in people going interstate to skate more modern and relevant features.”

The ACT is currently home to seven major skate parks in Belconnen, Civic, Eddison Park (Woden), Erindale, Tuggeranong, Weston and Yerrabi District Park (Gungahlin), as well as 12 smaller parks scattered across the suburbs from Charnwood to Condor.

The report devotes most of its recommendations towards repairing these, and increasing maintenance.

“A strategic and co-ordinated approach to skate park, design maintenance and replacement is needed to ensure Canberra’s facilities are safe, relevant and suitable for all disciplines,” one reads.

Several submissions, including one from a skater who broke his arm at Belconnen after hitting a “big hole in the concrete”, prompted the committee to conclude Transport Canberra and City Services (TCCS) crews need to do more to ensure the parks are clean and well-kept.

It also recommended more adequate lighting is rolled out across the skate parks, in response to complaints the current lights either were not “coming on at all or switching off too early”.

An all-weather skating facility should also be on the cards “to allow people to use the facilities throughout the cold, frosty winters and hot summers”, as well as shade options on the current skate parks to reduce sun glare.

Other skate parks are old enough, the committee heard, the government should heritage list them.

For instance, the Charnwood Bowl, built in 1978, is one of Australia’s oldest skate parks, while the Erindale Brick Banks, built around the college and library in the 1980s, have been used by Australian and international professional skateboarders including Tony Hawk in 1988.

The Canberra Region Old School Skaters (CROSS) noted innovative skating infrastructure in the 1970s and 1980s had resulted in the ACT becoming “iconic across Australia and around the world”.

But a large swathe of the recommendations suggested more should be done to encourage people to take up skating – through education programs and government sponsorship of the annual Belco Bowl Jam event – and as a form of active travel.

This high visibility and accessibility “helps deter antisocial behaviour and ensure the safety of skate park users and the broader community”.

As part of this, the committee said the government should scale back its use of so-called ‘skate stoppers’. These often take the form of metal protrusions along the leading edge of walls, ledges or handrails, designed to prevent people from gliding along them on a skateboard.

In its submission, the Canberra Skateboarding Association (CSA) claimed these “signal skateboarders are not welcome in particular areas”, and that areas where they have been removed, such as along Constitution Avenue, have been “embraced by skateboarders”.

“You always see skateboarders there,” CSA’s submission read.

“It is a hotspot. It was not designed for skateboarding, but it is perfect for skateboarding. It is pretty safe. It has this nice, smooth long promenade that does not get a lot of traffic, except for maybe commuting hours.”

The committee recommended skateboard deterrents and skate-stoppers only be used in public places across Canberra “when necessary”, and that the reasons for those deterrents are “publicly and accessibly listed”.

Ultimately, the committee says people want the government to design a “skate park strategy”, similar to the Victorian Government’s Melbourne Skate Plan.

The ACT Government has four months to respond.