Ōmokoroa Bike Park update
In March, the Council very kindly dumped some truckloads of dirt at Cooney Reserve. This has seen many children and young people having a great time designing jumps and testing their bike skills.
It is, however, only a temporary solution and so on April 6th, a group of locals made a presentation to Council asking for a Bike Park to be added to the Long Term Plan for Ōmokoroa. With the support of their parents and some other families, Evan Baldwin 8, Maia Lewis 10, and Ethan Lewis 13 gave passionate speeches to a very daunting audience of Councillors about why they thought Ōmokoroa needed a Bike Park.
They all spoke about how the Skate Park is often overcrowded and that we need a separate space for bikers to be able to ride fast and to jump high without putting anyone else in danger.
A written submission has also been submitted which suggests a joint partnership be formed between the Council and the community to work together to design and build the bike park and to fund 50% each. This is how the Ōmokoroa Skate Park was built and it was a very successful model which allowed the community to have a say in what they wanted.
The Ōmokoroa Community Skate Park Group won the Supreme Award at the Trustpower Community Awards in 2016 and it was stated that “the project is a powerful example of what a small community can achieve if everyone has a shared vision”.
We now await the outcome of the Long Term Plan process in June to hear if the Council has included a Bike Park for Ōmokoroa. But in the meantime, these kids can be extremely proud of standing up on behalf of their peers and being an example of how to effect change in their community in a positive way.