The skatepark beneath the viaduct opened in 2004. The facility belongs to the Municipal Sports and Recreation Centre. It cost PLN 120,000 and was supposed to be expanded further. Plans included, among other things, preparing a beach volleyball court and building a dirt track—an earth embankment adapted for BMX jumps. The expansion was abandoned in 2007 for technical reasons.
The idea was for the skatepark to be a place where young people could spend their time attractively, which was meant to keep them away from substance abuse and violence. Bolesławiec skateboarders had no doubt that the skatepark was a fantastic idea. But just two years later, they warned that nobody was taking care of the place. Seven years have passed, and today they show what kinds of injuries can occur there.
As dangerous as substance abuse
“We have an ideal place for the needs of young, ambitious residents of Bolesławiec who have decided to practise this extreme sport,” the facility’s owners write on their website. Unfortunately, the description is more attractive than the place itself.
Bolesławiec skaters believe that the best thing about the skatepark is its location beneath the viaduct. Everything else needs replacing and fails to meet expectations, while the owner “clads the equipment with sheet metal for show, so that officials can wash their hands of it,” they wrote in an email to our editorial office.
“Nowadays, skatepark elements are cast from reinforced concrete,” explains skater Mateusz Członka. “It is the same technology used to cast driveways and floors in factory halls. The equipment does not need to be maintained then, because nothing comes loose or sticks out. This park was built by a company that no longer exists.”
The young people say that the entire structure is defective and that riding on it causes serious injuries. Skateboard wheels catch on the ramps. The metal elements of the ramps are coming apart in every direction. Krzysztof Pinkiewicz broke his collarbone because there was a hole in a ramp. It has now been covered with sheet metal, although a new board should have been installed there. Damian Stępak broke his arm on a ramp that is now so unstable that boards have to be placed beneath it.
During our visit, one of the boys injured his hand. Accidents are a daily occurrence at the neglected skatepark. A sliding skateboard often hits a sharp metal edge and, after several such impacts, delaminates. A child falling onto it could be seriously injured. It is impossible to ride safely on the skatepark’s uneven surface.
Come to me and tell me what needs repairing
Informed about the condition of the skatepark, the MOSiR director did not hide his displeasure that the skaters were communicating with him through the media. “My phone number is not private, and I am not hiding,” said Dariusz Jośko. “I had even arranged to meet one of the skaters this month, but nobody came to me.”
According to information provided by Jośko, the site was renovated before the summer holidays—including the installation of new boards—and a cleaning crew is sent there every week.
“I can do only as much as my funds allow,” Jośko explains. “The maintenance worker repairs everything he notices. But without the skaters’ help, we do not know what happens there every day or what needs renovation.”
The problem is that the skatepark in Bolesławiec does not need renovation but demolition and the structural elements need to be cast anew, this time using modern technology. “We went to MOSiR for talks, but the city has no money,” says Mateusz. “A new skatepark like that costs about PLN 150,000. We go to competitions; other cities already have such skateparks, including Bielawa, which is much smaller than Bolesławiec. Crowds of people go there.”
Mateusz Członka says that Bolesławiec skaters could organise competitions in the city. They know people and even companies that could sponsor the events. They see this as a way to promote the city and have great fun. All that is missing is a proper, modern and safe skatepark.
Co zrobić z obecnym skateparkiem?
(information: Krzysztof Gwizdała/Grażyna Hanaf)