In this piece, James Pierce argues that the plans for the refurbishment of Rye Skatepark will make it less attractive for BMX riders.
If there is one thing I’d love Rye Town Council to listen to, it is this.
I’m 33 years old now, and have ridden BMX bikes since I could peddle. From reading the plans outlined by the council, it seems someone along the way has deemed the ramps that we had are unsuitable for people of all ages and skill levels, so it needs a change, which couldn’t be further from the truth. From the plans, I’m assuming that they are now going to install some even more basic equipment which kids will quickly grow out of. A good example of this is in Peasmarsh, where the kids now don’t use the skatepark and build 7ft tall jumps in the woods instead to get their fix.
Rye is a very basic, moderate height skatepark, which has always catered for everyone, in the small square footage that we had to play with. BMX, skateboard, inlines and scooters could all enjoy it. I personally go there for a bit of fun, in the evenings, but when I want to get the fix that I desire, I’ll make an eight-hour round-trip to adrenaline alley, up in Corby. Go and have a look at their ramps, educate yourself; kids today are riding ramps that didn’t even exist when I was a kid.
When the kids of Rye wanted a skatepark, nearly 20 years ago, we all gathered in my parents’ house on a Friday evening and painted those exact words on some old white bedsheets. The next morning, we blocked off Gibbet Marsh car park entrance and made a stand, holding up those bedsheets with our message written clearly for the Rye Observer to see. I don’t remember anyone on Rye Town Council being a part of that movement?
When the skatepark was originally designed, we had to compromise with the skateboarders. They wanted a flat bank and a box, BMXers wanted a quarter pipe and a jump box in its place. The skaters got their side and the BMXers got their side, and the half pipe in the middle was used by everyone.
I can only assume the ramps that replace the ones that have gone from the park will suit skateboarders as opposed to bike riders. To me, that seems silly, considering we have the two biggest UK BMX distributors situated just a short journey over in Hastings. Seventies and 4Down sponsor lots of local riders who all came to use the park before it was closed off for refurbishment and change.
We live in an area with one of the biggest BMX scenes in the UK. We should be encouraging them to our facilities, to use local business, not stripping the only piece of BMX DNA left in the park and replacing it with something that riders won’t flock to use.
The little town of Rye has also produced one of the highest regarded BMX riders in the world, his name is Dan Lacey, go and google him and watch some of his videos. His BMX life started off in Gibbet Marsh car park, where we used to dig out the banks surrounding the car park to create our own quarter pipes and jumps. The council should know this all too well, as they used to come and destroy all our hard work with their mini digger.
The lad who just won silver for the UK in the Olympics BMX, Kieren Reilly, also comes to use our park, his sponsors Tallorder are based in Hastings – another born and bred local company whose owner is backed by RedBull.
It just seems, without anyone asking, change is happening behind closed doors and people are making decisions.
So, something to think about: why not get a few designs from Fearless, post them up on your social media channels, and get the users to vote? That way, like all those years ago, the future of the skatepark can be decided by the people who use it, and we can see before it happens who this new skatepark is going to be tailored towards.
You can read more about plans for the Skatepark in Park Life from Rye News earlier this month.
Image Credits: James Stewart .