Imagine my discomfort, then as I watch and participate in the debates around a venue for a youth facility and what it turn us into warring factions!
I was deeply upset at the meeting that the CCC ran at Halswell School to discuss this because of the way we were all steered away from talking about what clearly matters very deeply to us. The meeting felt like it turned into an us versus them competiton. It is not! And it made me very sad that lovely people were essentially working very hard to dismiss each other. This process has resulted in us missing the point by focusing our attention on a skate park. Incidentally, we are also missing an opportunity to deepen our sense of community and with it to feel that we are ALL safe and supported as part of this community.
My question to everyone is how can we meet the needs of all who live here?
- How can we meet the needs of our young people for a safe place to meet and spend time with their friends, to play and build social skills together with other kids, and to have a safe place to develop and practice physical skills?
- How can we meet the needs of local residents to feel safe and secure in their own homes?
- How do we convince each other that we do in fact care for the wellbeing of all those we live near?
Dismissing the needs of any group in this community is not, and never will be, the way through this.
i believe that the skate park belongs in Halswell domain park. it's right in the middle of Halswell so is equally accessible for all who want to use it. As for some of the nimbys that were found at the community meeting last week, I think they would not be in any way adversely affected by the skate park. if the park is in halswell domain, and is WELL LIT, then I have no doubts that people will be able to enjoy the park.
ReplyDeleteThis is really a nice blog in you discuss about some good points, thanks for sharing and keep sharing.
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I also like the Halswell Domain as a location for the skate park. When my children were young we got a lot of pleasure from skate parks and developed bikeing and skating skills.
ReplyDeleteBUT there problems associated with skate parks. Washington Ave park is associated with teens hanging out unsupervised,graffiti, drugs and frequent fights. This appears to be a common problem with skate parks. My teens would not like such a park close to houses. fires being lit in local play grounds attest to the nuisance element that lives among us.
Halswell Quarry has a gate that gets locked at night. Perhaps the skate could be lockable and be part of the council lock-up round.
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