Community
13 September, 2022
Skatepark a bitter-sweet victory
THE skatepark at Yorkeys Knob was something local skateboarder, Ross Willis, dreamt about and petitioned for over many years.
Now that the facility is under construction an unintended consequence has turned into a nightmare for one local mother.
Sharon Whipp, mother of five-year-old Jaxon WhippRampling, was shocked to find the local BMX track has been demolished.
Jaxon, a keen biker, regularly used the track to perfect his stunts but now the youngster has nowhere to go.
The BMX Track at Yorkeys Community Centre Park at 58-64 Wattle Street featured rollers, berms, small hills and jumps and is still listed on the Cairns Regional Council website.
Jaxon’s mum immediately rang council to find out what was going on. She received an email from Council’s Project Officer for Community Spaces saying that the “the dirt BMX jumps have been removed and used as fill for the new youth space/skate facility that is currently being constructed at the park”.
The officer also said the facility would not be replaced and that “dirt BMX jumps are difficult to maintain to a safe standard, often they are modified by community members and are costly to maintain. It is Council’s preference to build concrete or bitumen recreational facilities. Council will rehabilitate the area back to parkland space.”
There nearest BMX tracks listed on the council website in the northern beaches are at Syd Granville Memorial Park at Holloways Beach; Allyson Street, Smithfield and Rainy Mountain Park, Smithfield. Two other tracks are located at Evergreen Park, Clifton Beach and Kamerunga Environment Park at Caravonica. All are listed as dirt BMX tracks with rollers, berms, small hills and jumps.
They are not as convenient as having a track a few blocks away and there are fears they may too disappear in the future.
Sharon Whipp was keen to see the Skate Park come to fruition but says “it a bittersweet victory for local families if it is at the expense of other recreation facilities”.
