Mark Brimson
23 Jul 2015
· 23 Jul 2015 1:50 PM
After hearing about the resurfacing of Kuraby and going there to see / feel it, I was going to post something here but these guys have a better version of it, so read theirs and make sure your Council doesn't do the same:
https://www.facebook.com/BrisbaneSkateboardingAssociation
After hearing about the maintenance works carried out at Kuraby Skatepark we got in contact with local Councillor for the area Cr Steven Huang in order to bring the poor attempt at maintenance to his attention. We received this information from the Councillors ward:
1) What work was carried out and when plus the reasoning?
The skate bowl works were completed in June 2015 as part of the capital works programme and were required due to the surface degradation of the skate facility. An external consultant Knight Consulting Engineers was commissioned to provide a report on rehabilitating the skate bowl.
The work consisted of:
1. High pressure clean of the entire skate bowl site.
2. File all cleaned cracks, damaged areas and expansion joints as per the Knight Consulting Engineers Report provided.
3. Repair / grind all damaged concrete edges as required.
4. Replace missing steel angle iron.
5. Supply and apply to the entire skate bowl area a 'spray-crete' or similar approved coating as per Knight Consulting Engineers recommendations. Product must be suitable for hard wearing concrete skate bowl surfaces.
The product used was called a B-Track System which is a cement based coating system similar to what is used on bus lanes. The coating was required to meet specific slip resistance standards which it does. The contractor would not sign off on a smoother surface, as it would be considered too dangerous to skate on when wet.
The contractor will be requested to re-inspect the skate bowl and sand all the steel rails to remove the coating which will return them to the previous condition before the coating was applied. The reason the rails were coated was to preserve the steel to stop them rusting. The existing concrete surface was very rough initially and the coating has actually reduced the level of rough surface across the skate bowl.
---
The Brisbane Skateboarding Association responded to this, (including Cr Krista Adams and Lord Mayor Graham Quirk in on the email) with:
While we appreciated the council taking steps to improve Kuraby Skate Park and undertaking necessary repair works, such as grinding damaged concrete edges and replacing steel angle iron, it is unfortunate proper research wasn't taken to ensure good practice approaches were adopted.
Why would council contract a consultant with obviously limited knowledge of skate facility requirements, especially when there are number of specialised skate facility design and construction companies.
Did the consultant present other options to improve concrete surface, such as honing the concrete , which has proved successful at the Gold Coast for a reasonable fee.
Regarding the consultants claim, 'coating was required to meet specific slip resistance standards which it does', there are no Australian standards for skate park construction.
The contractor stated, they 'would not sign off on a smoother surface, as it would be considered too dangerous to skate on when wet.' This is in contrast to good practice skate park construction which is to create smooth concrete finish. Skateboarders understand it is slippery to skate in the rain, not to mention the damage it will have to skateboard and ball-bearings, so typically do not skate in the rain or do so at their own risk. If the consultant had done their research, as they were paid to do, they would have seen a rough surface is not good practice.
The contractor also stated, 'The reason the rails were coated was to preserve the steel to stop them rusting.' The reason for the rails and why they are made of steel is for the skateboarders to 'grind' and 'slide' on. Covering the rails in concrete inhibits this practice. Again, a bit of research would have revealed this.
Once again, we would like Brisbane City Council to consult with the Brisbane Skateboarding Association for all skatepark maintenance in the future as we are here to help you and provide the best possible result.
--
We haven't had a response from the local Councillor to this email as yet but we did receive an email from Lord Mayor Graham Quirk stating, 'Thank you for contacting me on 17th July 2015. I appreciate you bringing this to my attention’ - a response we think that clearly reinforces council's view of skate parks in Brisbane City.
We have heard from sources that have been in contact with a specialised skate facility design and construction company and they didn’t think it was fixable, so it will be interesting to see how Council go about fixing the maintenance job.
http://media.skateboard.com.au/forum/images/DA4C86A6-C116-3876-7951131B286E0405.jpg
https://www.facebook.com/BrisbaneSkateboardingAssociation
After hearing about the maintenance works carried out at Kuraby Skatepark we got in contact with local Councillor for the area Cr Steven Huang in order to bring the poor attempt at maintenance to his attention. We received this information from the Councillors ward:
1) What work was carried out and when plus the reasoning?
The skate bowl works were completed in June 2015 as part of the capital works programme and were required due to the surface degradation of the skate facility. An external consultant Knight Consulting Engineers was commissioned to provide a report on rehabilitating the skate bowl.
The work consisted of:
1. High pressure clean of the entire skate bowl site.
2. File all cleaned cracks, damaged areas and expansion joints as per the Knight Consulting Engineers Report provided.
3. Repair / grind all damaged concrete edges as required.
4. Replace missing steel angle iron.
5. Supply and apply to the entire skate bowl area a 'spray-crete' or similar approved coating as per Knight Consulting Engineers recommendations. Product must be suitable for hard wearing concrete skate bowl surfaces.
The product used was called a B-Track System which is a cement based coating system similar to what is used on bus lanes. The coating was required to meet specific slip resistance standards which it does. The contractor would not sign off on a smoother surface, as it would be considered too dangerous to skate on when wet.
The contractor will be requested to re-inspect the skate bowl and sand all the steel rails to remove the coating which will return them to the previous condition before the coating was applied. The reason the rails were coated was to preserve the steel to stop them rusting. The existing concrete surface was very rough initially and the coating has actually reduced the level of rough surface across the skate bowl.
---
The Brisbane Skateboarding Association responded to this, (including Cr Krista Adams and Lord Mayor Graham Quirk in on the email) with:
While we appreciated the council taking steps to improve Kuraby Skate Park and undertaking necessary repair works, such as grinding damaged concrete edges and replacing steel angle iron, it is unfortunate proper research wasn't taken to ensure good practice approaches were adopted.
Why would council contract a consultant with obviously limited knowledge of skate facility requirements, especially when there are number of specialised skate facility design and construction companies.
Did the consultant present other options to improve concrete surface, such as honing the concrete , which has proved successful at the Gold Coast for a reasonable fee.
Regarding the consultants claim, 'coating was required to meet specific slip resistance standards which it does', there are no Australian standards for skate park construction.
The contractor stated, they 'would not sign off on a smoother surface, as it would be considered too dangerous to skate on when wet.' This is in contrast to good practice skate park construction which is to create smooth concrete finish. Skateboarders understand it is slippery to skate in the rain, not to mention the damage it will have to skateboard and ball-bearings, so typically do not skate in the rain or do so at their own risk. If the consultant had done their research, as they were paid to do, they would have seen a rough surface is not good practice.
The contractor also stated, 'The reason the rails were coated was to preserve the steel to stop them rusting.' The reason for the rails and why they are made of steel is for the skateboarders to 'grind' and 'slide' on. Covering the rails in concrete inhibits this practice. Again, a bit of research would have revealed this.
Once again, we would like Brisbane City Council to consult with the Brisbane Skateboarding Association for all skatepark maintenance in the future as we are here to help you and provide the best possible result.
--
We haven't had a response from the local Councillor to this email as yet but we did receive an email from Lord Mayor Graham Quirk stating, 'Thank you for contacting me on 17th July 2015. I appreciate you bringing this to my attention’ - a response we think that clearly reinforces council's view of skate parks in Brisbane City.
We have heard from sources that have been in contact with a specialised skate facility design and construction company and they didn’t think it was fixable, so it will be interesting to see how Council go about fixing the maintenance job.
http://media.skateboard.com.au/forum/images/DA4C86A6-C116-3876-7951131B286E0405.jpg
