Move to develop unused grounds into skate park

LOCAL skateboarders are hoping to bring a new vibe to an unused park in Overport, and are working with the ward councillor to appeal to the municipality to approve the development of a skate park.

Councillor Jethro Lefevre said Mitch Suter and Andrew Morck approached him three months ago with the idea to use parks which are not used and need an upgrade, to turn them into a skate park.

“Skateboarding is so popular and I loved the idea. The City has a policy where it is turning parks into multifunctional areas, so this would be a great idea for the park in Juniper Road,” he said.

Mitch and Andrew have come up with a concept and design for the park and are enthusiastic about the idea.

“Our concern is that the only skate park in the area is at the beachfront and it is in bad condition. It needs to be resurfaced and redesigned. The majority of skaters are youngsters who live in the surrounding areas. The beachfront buildings are mostly hotels and are not residential, so guys have to travel to the beach to skate. We want to bring a skate park to the area, so it is more accessible,” said Mitch.

“I think this will be a viable solution for this park, as it will bring people back to the park and make it usable again, getting rid of the unwanted elements. It will have a flat area for parking, which will help alleviate the issue of trucks and congestion in Juniper Road,” said Lefevre.

Suter said the proposed skate park would have a variety of elements and would cater for all aspects such as skateboards, bikes, roller blades and roller skates.

“With the Diamond Cup in Kimberley, the government got quite heavily involved in backing the event and Cape Town also has an organisation which deals with government to do what we are trying to do here, although they haven’t targeted parks, but underneath highway passes. It is against the by-laws for us to skate on the pavements so we need council to provide a safe and usable space for us to skate and ride, and we feel this is a great opportunity,” he said.

Morck, who is an old time Durban skater and park and ramp designer, has been involved in designing skate parks in Richards Bay, JBay, the Pavilion and at the Durban beachfront.

“We feel this is a great community and upliftment project. Skateboarding is one of the fastest growing sports in the world and is a multiracial culture; the sport is about what you can do, not what you look like. The beachfront skate park is constantly busy and I’m sure this one would be equally as popular. Skateboarders are from eight-years-old up and don’t have transport, so local areas are easier to get to,” he said.

If the project is approved, from concept to creation, the skate park could take up to four months to build, depending on how quickly the architectural drawings are done.

“The beachfront concept took around six months to complete. As drawings are more accurate now, it should make the architects’ job easier. It’s all pending on approval and backing,” said Andrew.

The idea for the skate park would be a square design.

“Variety and options would be limitless. It has to be done correctly to be effective. We will implement street elements such as fire hydrants, benches and reused street bollards. We aim to leave as many trees and grassy areas as possible and work around the environment. It’s looking positive, and we are pleased with the backing from Councillor Lefevre,” said Suter.