Lismore Skatepark and Youth Precinct

Wonderful project, Lismore needs activities for kids and teens. Perhaps more adventure park style equipment like in Tamworth could be included? One concern - a recent media release mentioned ‘smart’ furniture would be installed with wifi. What data will that be collecting about our kids? Maybe ordinary park furniture would be better.

Need a smaller safe version for yound kids starting out, out of the way of the pros

Natural surveillance yo minimise antisocial behaviour, lots of seats for parents, water dispensers for people wanting to fill water bottles, skate areas for a mix of abilities, including scooters, not just skateboards. An area for a stage to be erected to allow larger skate events to be hosted

Hi I'd love to be involved in the design concept. I'm a Rollerskater & i Street skater, Bowl skate & have riden on many Skate Parks all over the world on my Rollerderby Tours & travels. I'm.also a local who Captained, Coached & played for Lismore's NRRD - Northern Rivers Roller Derby Team for 5 successful years. We were Unbeaten on home turf Bouts for 5 years.
I would recommend a trip to Nimbins SkatePark, which has a great Snakerun leading into the main bowl, I know lots of international Skateboarders, BMX riders & Rollerskaters that think this is one of the best designed parks ever.
Please don't hesitate to call me on
M- 0418520991

If this park is aiming to allow the youth to become advanced, competitive skaters/BMXers, then some bigger quarter pipes are required. A bowl with similar sizing to what has been built at the new Redbank Plains skatepark, or Byron skatepark would be perfect. Also given the lack of vert ramps in the northern rivers, it would be great if the 10ft steel vert ramp from the old Lismore skatepark could be re-utilized at the new park.

I concurr with Scott Walker in that not having a proper bowl section in the park is a missed opportunity. I Lismore wants to be on the map for serious competition and skate events, a 10 ' bowl is needed. Any aspiring park skater need a decent bowl section since that is where a lot of serious comps are held. Don't miss this opportunity, Lismore.

If this youth precinct is to be for more youth than just skaters, you need to broaden the scope.

Double full court basketball courts would be amazing, the other outdoor court at Kadina is already very busy. Basketball is huge with teenage boys.

Bbq facilities for families to gather while they keep an eye on their kids enjoying the space.

Incorporate permanent power solutions into the design to make future event set-up safe and easier. Get your events team involved for feedback to make sure the design meets your HSE planning for food vendors, jumping castles, outdoor cinema screens.

Wast of money it will be trashed and used for drugs will be unused before it even begins massive waste next time use the money to help people or fix the skate park we already have up instead of just adding another spot for thugs and hooligans to live

The concept art seems to have limited seating and event areas. Parents with disability would likely need a place to sit to supervise and this plan worries me that it wont be a constant possibility.
Another thing is flat spaces for riding/skating. Beginners need a flat surface that doesn't intimidate.

Hi,
The street section of the skate park looks great with plenty of different obstacles and flow. The mini ramp is a great idea for all riders to ride on. I do feel Lismore is really missing out on an opportunity not putting in a park style bowl similar to red bank plains in QLD as at present there is no proper park style bowls for the aspiring competitors similar to what is in the Olympics and this would be a major draw card for recreational and competitive riders and allowing competitions would be a great way to boost Lismore's tourism. The park style bowl has a smaller section with different obstacles in the bowl so beginner and intermediate riders can utilise this bowl as well as advanced riders as most park style bowls having a 10ft deep end. There is not much difference in this bowl and the bowl at Goonellabah and as such the council is replicating an asset they already own 5km away. The pump track and obstacles around the bowl whilst looks great on paper does present a hazard when kids fall going around the outside of the bowl and there board flying into the bowl when somebody is skating in the bowl as we have seen in Byron Bays new park. It would also be great to build a new vert ramp or move the existing ones over and re-sheeting with a Redz or Skatelite type surface.

This looks great, I'm just curious about the 12 month construction period.

1) What will public access to the park be like for the 12 months construction is underway ?

2) As this at the main entrance to our town, will there be any standards imposed regarding the state of the site during the construction period.

3) Will there be any contractual obligations imposed on the successful contractors to ensure this 12 month build doesn't blow out to a longer period ?

Thankyou and i'm really looking forward to this asset to the community coming to life.

Hello!

The design looks awesome, well done. The design that keeps the beginners and advanced safely apart is brilliant, thank you!

It wasn't clear to me from the documents, but I'm hoping, that the vegetation will be native, and regional to Northern Rivers as far as possible. I think that this should be the guiding principle in all council developments, because it supports the natural, native environment around the built area as well (by lack of accidental spreading), it gives ordinary people ideas on how to use native vegetation when they develop their own gardens (especially if you label them!), it supports the native nurseries and it ensures the plants thrive in their climatic environment, given they actually belong here, thus reducing the maintenance and replanting efforts from the council staff.

A second point I'd like to make is related to considering whole families in the design of the park. I can imagine families with different-aged children finding it difficult to entertain the small ones in a safe way while the tweens and teens have a ride. I'm surprised that a large "island" only accommodates one swing. I'd propose placing some basic playground equipment in a way that the parents can supervise the little ones while setting up a picnic and perhaps even having a line of vision for the beginner skate areas simultaneously. I'm also not convinced that the area overall is shaded well enough.

I would also like to point out, that in parallel to this development, the council should look into the safety of the surrounding pedestrian/bike access in the CBD and towards each suburb so that parents can better allow the older kids to visit the park on their own. There is currently a lot to improve particularly better signage. Painted bike lanes would give bikes the "right to exist", which should reduce the aggression from car drivers and parking cars to block those lanes. (I know that there was a consultation about the topic, which I unfortunately missed, but I'm a regular biker and would be happy to contribute details if advice is needed).

The final comment is about the climbing facilities. The text is cute, but the climbing seems a bit trivial. I thought that climbing was a real focus of this park, alongside skating, but that doesn't seem to be the case, Here are a couple of ideas anyway. The letter O could have a rotating barrel inside (like in Kadina Park) - this is more towards the previous point of the "whole of the family park". The letters could be spaced apart and in between, you could have "tree top" type rope challenges - just keeping them low enough so that one doesn't need a harness... It should be possible to climb on the letters and sit or stand there for the ultimate photo opportunity on the #LismoreLove - and encourage people to use the hashtag! Different letters should have climbing wall features with different difficulty levels so that every child and every adult can find their own challenge. People quickly lose interest in climbing if it's too easy or too difficult.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback and good luck with the project!

Please make sure that if you are putting up shade that it is not right next to the skate ramps (do shade for spectators but not shading ramps) as this prevents it drying from morning dew and rain which is a safety hazard.
Who ever gets contracted to build the skatepark please make sure that the transition is not built the same as Goonellabah or Nimbin as it is super whippy and is a waste of space. If your going to put the money into it, do it right or don't do it at all. Otherwise it will be an unused skatepark like Gbah and Nimbin pretty much is.
Please make the concrete smooth and not rough like Gbah. The concrete colour would be great being anything besides white/grey as it is glarey in the sun. The new parks being built red are a good idea.
Please no coping sticking out a ridiculous amount like Wollongbar and Nimbin for example. Ballina coping is a good example of what good coping should be like.
Love the design if anything take out the dip in the ledges as it will collect water. No rocks or bark around the skatepark as this is a safety hazard.

This sounds sick please do this Lismore city council the kids would love this, and this would defiantly draw more tourists to Lismore..

All good, layout seems fine (I am no skater) however, as a seasoned citizen, I enjoy youth attempt and perform their skills. There is a lot of concrete there and t will get very hot in the sun. The residual heat will remain stored too. Can you raise the grass areas for a modest step up 1 or 2 metres? This will allow a green lawn tiered section for viewing ( for parents/carers etc) and a cooler area to catch the breeze away from the concrete radiation.

looks epic, would definitely benefit from some shaded areas and bubblers.

Park design looks sweet. I like that it has smaller quarters and half pipes. Heaps of interesting lines and transitions. Its like a mini Pizzey Park.
Feedback would be to have NO bark or pebbles in the landscaping as it is a huge safety hazard for skateboarders if it gets tossed onto the concrete.
Having a sign of helpful rules for the park. Often parents with young children do not supervise and teach their kids to take turns going, not cut in on someone, not leave their bike or scooter laying around etc. It causes many near misses and accidents. Lastly why do the ledges have decent in the them? It limits the use of the ledge and would lead water pooling.
Very excited for the completed project .

Concept is awesome!
The "parkour LOVE park climbing feature" could do with a variety of obstacles, of different heights and directions, to offer more choice of movement and creativity for parkour/free-running. There seems to be plenty of space around the "LOVE" feature that could be utilised for simple blocks, walls, or step additives, which would increase the appeal for any parkour enthusiast...

I really love the concept ideas for the park. It looks like the skate facilities will be awesome for a wide range of age groups and skill levels. It looks really diverse.
I suggest the follow improvements to the overall design.
1) Make the bouldering and climbing area a bigger feature of the design. Please give it descent height and level of difficulty. This would be a major point of difference for the park. The climbing must range from easy (suitable for young children), to very difficult (beyond V10 on the bouldering scale). This is so all ages and skill levels are covered and so young people can return and repeat the climbs until they can finish a route. There are climbers in Lismore who can climb V10. Multiple climbing routes should be at a very difficult grade, but there needs to be plenty of progression. extended overhanging sections are essential. High quality soft fall should be built into the design to make it safe. I'd love to see a climbing area built in a way that allowed young people to progress as they grow with the facility. This would be a huge drawcard for the park.
2) Please build at least some of the skatepark under a very large waterproof cover / shelter. It should be designed in a way that ensures the skatepark surface stays dry. There are no places for young people to gather in wet weather in Lismore. It rains regularly and an undercover section of the skatepark would be very well used in sunny weather as well as wet weather. Please make it a section of the park which is suitable for younger users.
3) Please design the park so that water drains well from all the surfaces.
4) Please make the connecting paths wider than in the concept plan. All paths should comply with AU Bike Path standards to reduce the risk of crashes or forcing riders on to the grass. It will make the grass last longer.
5) More large trees for shade (but choose trees that don't drop lots of leaves).
Thanks heaps.

this is the best thing to happen to Lismore. what an awesome plan! definately needs a good sized giant basket swing for the teenagers..