The Greystanes community are calling for a skate park.

Teenage boys aged between 12–17 who have a strong passion for skate boarding in the Greystanes community are calling on the Holroyd City Council to build a new skate park in the area. The nearest skate parks are placed in Wetherill Park which is 6km away and comes under Fairfield council region. Granville and Parramatta, also have skate parks in there areas and are both approximately 7km from Greystanes. However there is not even one Skate Park built throughout the Holroyd area. This means that these teenage boys in the Greystanes area are riding their scooters, skateboards and bikes just to get to and from the nearest skate facility. Parents and their children are doing everything they can to get a skate park alot closer to home for these young teenagers who are keen and interested in this particular hobby. Many parents and students from the Greystanes area have started online petitions, campaigns, YouTube clips, surveys and social media accounts such as Facebook and Twitter, which all outline a strong case for why there should be a skate park in their local area. The community has put in a huge amount of their own time and efforts in order to gather further support from the whole community for the project of the skate park to be built and for the word to spread around. The residents of Greystanes are hoping for a change in their local community,which will be beneficial to teenagers now and for future generations.

A site for the skate park at Greystanes has been proposed at the nearby Bathurst St Park. The reason why this particular park has been chosen in the local area is because many parents and the rest of the community know it to be a safe and environmentally friendly community open area, its central to two schools which are just 750m away and hold a combined total of 1,400 students which is continuing to grow over the years. The park is also a highly visible location, close to public transport, and it also has more than enough room to fit the skate park, which will not interfere with other park users and facilities that are placed around the park. Bathurst St park is a friendly environment to all people throughout the community, it includes two netball courts, two tennis courts, a cricket pitch, two large soccer fields and a playground equipment. Therefore Bathurst St Park has been chosen as its central to many people in Greystanes. However there has been a lack of funds by the Holroyd Council, which have prevented the project from getting built, the council also keeps ingoring this petition, and never does anything about it despite having support from Skateboarding Australia.

Many parents are pushing the plan for the skate park in the Greystanes area and are saying that the Holroyd council is the only local government area in Sydney without a dedicated skate park. This is why many people in the community are fighting for one. Parents are saying without the purpose of a built skate park, many children and teenagers who love to skate are being more prone to injuries as their children are using the streets, footpaths, gutters and carparks in order to skate and do tricks like jumps. These are really unsafe places, which are not built for this particular purpose. Recent figures from the Australian Bureau Statistics show that an estimation of 73 per cent of skateboard or scooter related accidents happen away from the skate park, this is why the Greystanes community is kindly asking for a skate park in the local area as these young youths are using unsafe facilities in order to skate.

Many teenagers throughout the community spend a lot of money on scooters, bikes and skate boards along with safety accessories, and also sessions just so they can use the park for up to three hours. These teenagers also spend alot of their own time during the school holidays riding their bikes, scooters and skateboards to the three nearest skate parks as these boys have a passion and and enjoy this hobby .For this particular reason it is clearly evident, that the Holroyd area is long overdue for a skate park. The Holroyd City council needs to understand and meet the needs of the youth in order to cater for different age groups in the area. This will then mean the community will have a safe facility park where parents don’t have to worry about their children travelling a far distance to other skate parks via the streets and roads, where there could be one close by for all. These children will also be keeping safe in their local areas and more children might start playing outdoors as this facility will be exciting and fun for all children throughout the community, instead of staying inside during the holidays.

Therefore the community of Greystanes are trying their hardest by doing everything they can to convince the Holroyd City Council to build a new skate park in the area. This will be very beneficial to the local area, and to future generations as the population is continuing to grow, especially with the new estate Pemulwuy. It will be a facility which the whole community can enjoy as they dont have a skate park in the area.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hh40B50044

http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/sk8parkgreystanes