Skatepark lights up for the first time
New Plymouth’s East End Skatepark was thrown into the spotlight on Saturday with the official completion of a $160,000 project.
The lighting upgrade has been three years in the making, after being first mooted in April 2017 as a way to deter vandalism and allow skaters to get more use out of the park.
The project was championed by the Light the East End Skatepark committee, which engaged the skating fraternity, leading to the formation of the Taranaki Skateboarding Association.
The festive atmosphere began building hours before New Plymouth mayor Neil Holdom’s 8-year-old daughter, Alyssa, flicked the switch just after 5pm, with music as well as a free sausage sizzle, icecreams and coffees.
Hundreds of people, young and old, with skateboards, scooters and BMX bikes were there for the ceremony including one of the country’s top skaters, Kadin Elliott, who travelled from Te Awamutu.
Taranaki skating enthusiast Jackson Wilcox described the lights as near perfect and believed the upgrade would lead to more people getting into the sport.
‘‘It’s great to see that they are finally here,’’ Wilcox said. ‘‘I’m really stoked. They will allow us to skate longer which will result in better fitness.’’
The lights are the first stage of a bigger project to expand and improve the park.
New Plymouth District councillor Stacey Hitchcock, who was also a member of the committee, said it was exciting to see everyone’s efforts paying off.
‘‘I‘m really proud of the Taranaki Skateboarding Association who have come together in the past year and the young skate crew who have driven this project to happen,’’ Hitchcock said.
Association member Phil Culf was also pleased with the outcome.
‘‘This will give skaters a better chance to exercise this winter,’’ Culf said. ‘‘This is where they make a lot of friendships that will last forever.’’
He was keen to see the next phase of the project, developing an area where beginners could learn and resurfacing the concrete, get under way.
The lights are activated by a button, which will turn them on until they slowly fade off after an hour.
They will also shut off automatically by 9.30pm during the week, and 10pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.