With many of the island’s young people now using the Cherng Talay Tesco-Lotus carpark and other areas to hone their skating, it would be great for them to have a community area to hang out in.
Those behind the project want to raise around B1million to build the project, with the OrBorTor earmarking land at Surin Beach and hopefully also making a financial contribution too.
But like anything, it is not only the start-up costs that need to be considered. Such endeavours do not maintain themselves, and something will need to be established to ensure the park does not become run-down or unsafe.
As we have seen many times before in Phuket, well meaning ventures can often end up deteriorating due to lack of budget and questions over who is responsible for it once it is built.
We have seen this with the likes of the Austria-Phuket Community Center, built on Koh Sirae following the tsunami. These days, as we have reported, the venue is run-down and abandoned, has been the target of several arson attempts, and is a known hangout for drug users.
Likewise with the tsunami memorial wall, which was built in Mai Khao. It was in a sorry state until 2011, when volunteers from the US Navy arrived to give it a much-needed paint job. Instead they found the memorial blocked off by another wall, but that’s a different story altogether.
Safety and security of the skatepark are two other important issues. On the latter, we hope that all users will be required to wear helmets and safety gear, and that this is strictly enforced.
Like any community centre, the skatepark will be open to bad behaviour and the influence of undesirables. Those behind the project hope this won’t happen, and hopefully it doesn’t.
But the skatepark users, parents and guardians, and those in stakeholders in the wider community need to have the confidence that the skatepark is a safe place for young people to hang out.
Good luck to Tim, Ton and all those involved in the project planning and fundraising. A skatepark in Surin would be of great community benefit – provided it is properly managed and safe for all to use.