The Crescent

As hilarious as the battle above is (and please continue) I just wanted to say to anyone (even remotely) interested in the Glebe project to get down there this Saturday and have your say! We have been in discussion with Council about this project for well over a year and it's by far the best opportunity we have had in a long time to create something unique/special for Sydney! I urge everyone to come along and get involved. Props to Pet_flies for always attending the meetings and putting in his two cents! Its always good to see others keen to make some changes.

Apart from this...... there are at least 4/5 other projects currently in the works that (unfortunately) can't be discussed until further notice. I'm only mentioning that so everyone knows THINGS ARE HAPPENING......it just takes time.

More than happy to have a chat with anyone wanting to know anymore info. Contact me anytime at sparkes@sydneyskateboardassociation.com. I'm always happy to have a chat.

I did picture you as a bloke that rarely sets foot on board. That's my assumption, I'm actually stoked if I'm wrong. I'm just having a dig, you should cop it with a but of humour after all your seasoned hating.

I'm just mucking around really, please don't take me too seriously.

I've always advocated very hard for the best parks possible. It shits me no end when the street section gets the raw end of the deal. Brunswick, unfortunately, is headed down the same path. That is despite crew like Tim B and Bibby being great participants in the process. I was wanting the street to be equally as good all along, everyone that showed up would say the same. The vote was a poor process if which I was very critical of.

And I agree, the Newcastle "street" section is a pile of crap. I've been disappointed many times from how past consultations went. Everyone knows I let my opinions known. I just try and be a bit more constructive and diplomatic than some.

I'm putting my money (and time) where my mouth is and am putting myself through an architecture degree on top of my 50+ hours of work a week. A big reason is I'm disappointed with Aussie park design too. I can't fault Noble Park though, it's got something for everyone. Melbourne is well on the way to getting the inner city plaza it has been wanting too.

So yeah, just fucking around. I still believe that you should go to the meeting. I don't think you can yell loudly from the sidelines and expect to be heard. Back Sparx the SSA. They have worked hard and deserve your support

Cheers Josh.

No worries. I typed my post before I saw yours. I've been so stoked on how successful you have been, dealing with decision makers like Clover Moore takes time and skill.

If Sparkes is on the case, all will be sweet. Complete faith in that guy to get it done right. I don't take anything to heart Josh, secretly I'm just trying to fire this website back up to its former glory, your just the biggest fish thats on the bite right now. It really shouldn't matter if I skate or not, freedom to hate on the internet is a god given right and if someone wants to make a heartless and distant remark about a shitty bowl design they should be able to do it without some local legend stomping them down and bringing reality into the mix. All that kind of shit breeds is a website where no-one posts anything against the grain and eventually it will rot from boredom / become just another extension of Facebook where everyone strokes everyone elses balls.

Thanks boys. But to be honest the track record this far isn't all "five star reviews" just yet. Most projects we are involved with are still a while off being started.
Please hold all applause until the parks are finally built and built the way the community want. Thanks for the kind words regardless.....

Remember when Sparx had a bowl-cut in Killself?

*That's pretty much all I have for this thread at the moment, I hope it didn't derail the feud.

Absolutely Jim....... and a fedora. I also have a small penis, addicted to free/low grade internet pornography and I'm a renowned bed wetter.

Stop bragging....





*Swipes right*

On the subject of Bar Beach, I do agree that the street section is a pile of shit but there were a few reasons it ended up that way. Firstly, because the local residents put up a massive fight and the overall area of the park was reduced in somewhat of an attempt to appease said assholes. The bowl was already locked in. This was because the local old bowl guys had been lobbying for it for years. The whole bowl-a-rama image they were pushing is what prompted Newcastle council to apply for the grant. Even though some street skaters were involved though, they still got shafted to an extent with that design.

And the redfern oval idea sounds cool, just be specific about exactly what obstacles you want..........mention the word "unique" to a "designer" and they will start salivating and you'll end up with something stupid like that dish thing at mudgeeraba. I'd really love to see just a cool run of flat block ledges and manny pads with maybe some stairs and hubbas but I guess whatever the people want....

If the council is hoping to achieve something that doesn't look or feel like a skate park, then just make a plaza thing with some standalone ledges and small sets of stairs with out-ledges like that Russel Crowe thing on steroids. Forget tranny, theres glebe mini and that does the job :-)

Sadly when its all said and done, Glebe is a bit of a lame location. Why the hell they can't get budget allocation for Sydney Park is beyond me. I wrote to the planning member there last year and all they said was "we are trying to make the park facilities family friendly for younger children and feel a skate park does not fit that demographic". The park is fricking massive, has heaps of shadowy corners you could chuck a capsule bowl or small plaza like waterloo in without getting in the way of the kids bike school traffic lights, jungle gyms and sand pits.. Most importantly its right across the road from a train station that is 5 minutes from Central..

Sparkes, seeing as your on the front line, has Sydney Park come up in conversations? They seem to have an insane budget and room to burn. Fuck they just ripped up the entire kids training-road system with traffic lights and pedestrian crossings that they ride around on their bikes with to rebuild it 100 feet from the original location.

Hey shutdown,
Yes - Sydney park has been discussed numerous times. To be honest we have never really received negative feedback regarding a facility being constructed there......except council and local residents being concerned about the potential loss of green space. Obviously, we have educated council/residents countless times in regards to "modern skatepark design" and how many projects which are delivered these days encompass the preservation of green space, the use of recycled materials and so on.

Furthermore - The City of Sydney council openly boasts (on their website) to own/maintain over 400 public parks and spaces around Sydney. I'm no genius (obviously)...... but i'm sure you would agree with me that it's slightly suspicious council feel we are unable to share even a small portion of those 400 listed spaces with the greater community ?! Hect...... even sharing 1 of those 400 would be welcomed ! But no......it's all too hard.

To cut a long story short any decision made by the council (and I literally mean ANY) comes down to one persons final say......The Lord Mayor. The lord Mayor is renowned for "feathering her own nest" (so to speak) and generally approves public infrastructure that will only benefit herself, her friends, her associates, her wallet and ultimately her image. The Sydney bike lanes for instance - The millions of dollars put towards those cycleways is astronomical and they continue to be constructed all over town regardless of community sentiment! Í definitely agree the cycleways are needed and quite frankly I think they are great..... but it's more the fact that they are built despite copious amounts of community/local business objection and continue to expand with a "tough titties" attitude plastered all over them. What am I trying to say here? We would have had a city park YEARS AGO if she would somewhat benefit from its construction.

Anyway - i'm ranting but I thought (since you're interested) i'd bring you up to speed. We aren't stopping the fight and the more they push back the harder we go (kinda like doggy style). We already have an overwhelming level of community support from local residents..... much more than anyone attempting to object to the potential city park (this is a fact) and currently have a few things in the works which will really stir the waters in the council chambers. We will get that park (or a multitude of skate spaces/paths in the city) eventually.....even if it kills me.

Thanks for writing into council ! Even one quick email supporting skateboarding in Sydney or in support of more facilities is noted by council and really helps us win the fight. The more support council receive the harder it is for them to say "No". Anyway...... I realise that this is a massive "un-cool"/ Kook post but whatever.....if its not me it would be some other dick head so I guess (for now) i'm the dick head. I'd also just like to note that the Sydney City council staff have been nothing but amazing in helping us get the ball rolling. Don't be mad at them.....they are (for the most part) generally caring/kind people who want to see us finally get what we need.

Meeting went well, I've got high hopes for this park.
Most people seemed to be on the same page of getting a decent plaza, with great input from all who attended.

It really is a great spot, and not far from the light rail station.

Convic and city of Sydney seem to make a great pairing.