Tralee skate park plan put on the long finger

THERE appears little likelihood that a skate park will be built at the Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre in the near future.

Many of Tralee’s youth have been calling for a skate park to be built in the town for years and in 2015 a number of petitions calling for a skate park – each containing hundreds of names – were presented to Kerry County Council.

State funding to build a skate park at the Tralee Sports and Leisure Complex was granted in 2005 but the project never went ahead.

At Monday’s monthly meeting of the Tralee Municipal Council, Cllr Toireasa Ferris (SF) tabled a motion calling on council management to prepare an estimate on the cost of building a skate park at the Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre.

In reply, management highlighted potential insurance costs; noise and security issues and the cost of developing such a park.

According to management – who said such parks are predominantly used by male teenagers – “fears” about possible anti social behaviour were “another important consideration”.

While many resources, such as playgrounds and walking routes, have been provided for families and children, Tralee’s teen population have largely been ignored.

Many local teens also feel they have been unfairly blamed for many of the town’s public order problems, an accusation they flatly reject.

Management at Kerry County Council told Cllr Ferris the authority’s Tourism Unit and Capital Infrastructure Unit will examine all issues relating to the provision of a skate park and prepare a report for the council.

Cllr Ferris – who said a skate park would not cost much more than two to three thousand euro – appeared disappointed by management’s position.

“I see we’re just kicking this down the can again,” she said.