Thanks for your reply Admin.
My children are always padded up with helmets as well.
Unfortunately my 16 yr old doesn't like using it as too many little ones are in the way and stops him using it properly.
Where as the younger one is still learning and enjoys it.
I know it's hard to police but it seems a shame if the older ones can't use it for what it was built for. On the other hand it seems cruel to stop the little ones.
Don't know what the solution is but I originally thought it was meant for 'teens' as the younger ones have the other two parks already?
I know that some have found the best solution is to go there in quieter times - usually earlier and later in the day. This is not always practical but there is an over 40s group that have started using it at 8am on Sunday mornings for example!
In the longer term, we are looking into the possibility of doing more work on the top section that may include an area specifically for beginners called a pump track. In busy times we'd hope that this would draw the smaller ones away from the main skatepark.
Another option could be for the users to have a friendly dialogue with parents of the little ones asking them to keep them to certain area of the park. I realise this can be tricky as people can take offence but often if parents do understand that by zooming all over the skatepark in a random manner their children are stopping other people from using it then I'd hope that they would be receptive to a compromise. I do realise that this could be a tough thing to ask of a 16 year old though.
Look out for more details soon about our ideas for improvements to the top section of the skatepark and the basketball court.
