The level of senseless vandalism and graffiti in the Town of Gibsons is starting to take its toll on Town council and staff.
The skate bowl in Brothers Park, adjacent to the new community centre, is looking more and more like a dumping ground than a skate park. The bowl is riddled with graffiti, has been vandalized in other ways, is a constant place for people to dump garbage and is starting to look like an eyesore.
Council is pondering what to do and made the bold suggestion last week to cover the place with dirt, effectively bringing an end to skating in Brothers Park.
It's a sad state of affairs. When the original park was taken out to make way for the new community centre, the skate community begged council to begin construction of the new park. There were many delays, as the site for the park changed on several occasions. Those delays brought out considerable angst among parents and skaters alike. Letters to the editor poured in criticizing council for the delays, and a delegation of parents and skaters showed up at council begging the Town to start construction.
Eventually the right site was found, the funding was in place, and the park was built.
Now the $300,000-plus that went into building the park could go down the drain if some solutions to the destruction of the park aren't found soon.
We'd like to know where are all the parents and the skaters who lobbied council so hard to build the park? Why aren't they stepping up now to protect and take care of the park that they fought so hard for? Why aren't they offering council their support? This was a facility built for the skating community. The skating community should be taking care of it.
It's too bad certain people in Gibsons thinks it's cool to destroy things. The batting cage, which sits adjacent to the skate bowl, looks more like a jail cell these days thanks to repeated break-ins and vandalism. The Gibsons Minor Ball Association has probably spent more money fixing the cage than it took to actually build the structure. Now the skate park is facing extinction.
Lots of time, money and effort went into creating these facilities for the betterment of youth and the enjoyment of their sports. Protect these facilities. Treat them with the respect they deserve.
