06. Pre 2000 Skate Park – Alexandra Gardens Riverside Skatepark

Overview

The Riverside Skatepark is an enclosed rectangular skatepark placed in the centre of a large public park. There are many elements of the skatepark that can be utilised by skateboarders, BMX and scooter riders, which makes the skatepark very accessible to a wide variety of users.

Society

The skatepark may be close to the main CBD of Melbourne city, but it does feel quite segregated in its own way. There are disclaimers and warning signs posted intermittently throughout the park and there are multiple fences in different sections of the park.

Culture

The skatepark has quite an extensive following of youths throughout the day at different times of the week. On one occasion many youths skipped school for some hours just to hang out at the skatepark with their friends. The skatepark is easily accessible from the city centre, also the city itself caters for skateboarding with a policy in place where skates can skate in the city centre between the hours of 7pm and 7am. Many skateboarders take advantage of this when the same predictable lines within the skatepark become dull and pedestrian.

Planning

The skatepark is located in the centre of Alexandra Gardens, which hugs the Yarra River and is adjacent to the Flinders Street Station. The parklands are also home to the Royal Botanic Gardens, the Shrine of Remembrance and the Myer Music Bowl. The hours of operation of the Alexandra gardens skate park are prescribed to 10am to 6pm, 7days a week. Night-time skating is offered on Wednesdays and Fridays from 6pm to 10:30pm. The kiosk at the skatepark also accommodates a café and skate shop on site, a public toilet block is situated towards the rear of the skatepark.

Environment

The Riverside skatepark is constructed primarily of concrete and has many fun boxes, quarters, rails and skate blocks. The skatepark is still fairly new and the skatepark itself is still in very good condition. There are minimal amounts of graffiti inside the park, the only graffiti on the park was actually commissioned for the park. The skatepark also has floodlights which allows users to inhabit the skatepark at night. There has been no consideration given to shade structures or any forms of break out spaces inside the park.