SKATE MELBOURNE PLAN 2017–2027 A CITY FOR PEOPLE A city for people welcomes all. It is accessible, aff ordable, inclusive, safe and engaging. It promotes health and wellbeing, participation and social justice. Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners The City of Melbourne respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, the Boon Wurrung and Woiwurrung (Wurundjeri) people of the Kulin Nation and pays respect to their Elders, past and present. For the Kulin Nation, Melbourne has always been an important meeting place for events of social, educational, sporting and cultural signifi cance. Today we are proud to say that Melbourne is a signifi cant gathering place for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. melbourne.vic.gov.au/skate CONTENTS Executive summary 7 Skate Melbourne Plan 8 Guiding principles 22 Key actions 25 1. Identify spaces suitable and unsuitable for skate activity 26 2. Increase the provision, designation and integration of skateable spaces 28 3. Improve programming, communication, legislation and management 37 4. Increase participation for girls and women 39 Management and resourcing 40 Acknowledgements 43 August 2017 Disclaimer This report is provided for information and it does not purport to be complete. While care has been taken to ensure the content in the report is accurate, we cannot guarantee it is without fl aw of any kind. There may be errors and omissions or it may not be wholly appropriate for your particular purposes. In addition, the publication is a snapshot in time based on historic information which is liable to change. The City of Melbourne accepts no responsibility and disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information contained in this report. To fi nd out how you can participate in the decision-making process for City of Melbourne’s current and future initiatives, visit melbourne.vic.gov.au/participate 4 melbourne.vic.gov.au/skate Skate Melbourne Plan 2017–2027 5 6 melbourne.vic.gov.au/skate EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Skating is a popular activity in the The City of Melbourne currently has two City of Melbourne, with hundreds dedicated skate parks which will require of local and visiting skaters using replacement in the next fi ve years. the city’s skate parks and other Neither facility caters to street style public spaces each week. skateboarding. Across inner Melbourne municipalities there is also a lack of The City of Melbourne recognises diversity of skateable spaces in terms that skating is a legitimate physical of size and the types of devices, styles activity that provides health, social and and user groups that can use these other benefi ts for many people. Young spaces. There are currently no skateable people (those under 25 years of age) spaces that can cater for large or make up more than one third of the international events. municipality’s resident population and Like many other urban activities, there skating is an activity that is particularly are perceived and real challenges popular in this demographic. Skating is associated with skating such as noise, also an accessible and inclusive activity damage to infrastructure and amenity with potential for active participants and disruptive behaviour. However many from a range of demographics and capital cities across the world have backgrounds. successfully integrated skate activity in Skating has many benefi ts to the a safe, inclusive and accessible way that individual, general community and the has delivered positive benefi ts to the city including: city, general community and individuals. • Skating provides physical, mental This Skate Melbourne Plan 2017–2027 and social benefi ts. It’s a fun, (the Plan) sets out the vision for unstructured activity that promotes Melbourne to support a healthy and being active, creative and outdoors. inclusive skate culture for all people. • Skating injects vibrancy, economic The Plan aims to: benefi ts, performance and culture into the city. • encourage safe, inclusive and multi- use public spaces for all city users. • It can make spaces safer by increasing natural surveillance. • promote and support a healthy and inclusive skate culture and • Skate facilities can be less expensive community. to install and maintain than other recreational facilities and • plan for and provide adequate infrastructure (eg a sports oval or and accessible spaces for diverse indoor facility), and they have high skating styles. volumes of use in small footprints. Opportunities and challenges that • Well-designed skate spaces and skating presents for the municipality are facilities attract high levels of identifi ed and current skateable spaces use, activity, host major events and gaps are also assessed. and attract local, national and international visitors. Four key actions have been identifi ed to achieve the principles and aims of • It’s a global industry and can be a this Plan: legitimate career path for some, especially now that skating will 1. Identify spaces suitable and become an Olympic sport in 2020. unsuitable for skate activity. Street-style skateboarding is the most popular style in the municipality but 2. Increase the provision, designation many types of skating occur. BMX, and integration of skateable spaces. scooters, in-line and quad skates can also use the same infrastructure 3. Improve programming, and designated skateable spaces as communication, legislation skateboarding. and management. 4. Increase participation for girls and women. Skate Melbourne Plan 2017–2027 7 SKATE MELBOURNE PLAN The Plan sets out the City of Melbourne’s Street approach to the provision, location and management of skating and Street style skaters use public spaces related activities across the Melbourne such as plazas, forecourts, squares, municipality from 2017–2027. streets and footpaths. They use typical urban street furniture such as kerbs, Development of benches, rails and walls to ride, grind and slide on. the Plan The Plan builds on the City of Melbourne’s original ‘SKATESAFE’ Credit: Alex Waldmeyer Skating Management Plan (1998). It is based on research, surveys, Park observations, analysis and community Park style skaters use dedicated skate engagement feedback. parks and spaces designed for skating. This plan was developed in collaboration Much like street skaters, these skaters and with the assistance of the City of use skate park obstacles such as Melbourne’s Skate Melbourne Advisory fun-boxes, manual pads, banks to ride, Group. This group was formed with grind and slide on. a diverse range of people including skaters, residents, police and security among others to specifi cally develop Credit: Noel Forsyth this plan. Transitional About skating Transitional style skaters (also known as Skating is a popular activity in the City bowl or vert skating) utilise dedicated of Melbourne, with hundreds of skaters skate parks with transitional and bowl and spectators visiting its skate parks elements. and public spaces each week. The City of Melbourne recognises skating as a legitimate recreational and sporting activity. It is accessible and Credit: Noel Forsyth easy to participate in and contributes to the liveliness of the city while promoting Longboarding healthy, active lifestyles for all people. Longboarders utilise public spaces What is skating? such as wide park paths, streets and footpaths. These skaters do not ‘Skate activity’ or ’skating’ refers to generally grind or slide on furniture. any activity that uses a small wheeled device (eg skateboard, scooter, in-line Other styles include: skates and more) to grind, slide or ride on diff erent surfaces and elements and • Quad skating or rollerblading also includes BMX bikes. • Freestyle skating Credit: Jesslyn Mooi and Rose Ng It’s important to recognise that each • Slalom and down hill skating of these devices has their own spatial • BMX. needs and cultures associated with them and ‘skate’ is a general term that encompasses all the above devices and is used for this plan’s purposes only. When using these devices, there are diff erent styles of skating. The key four styles which are currently popular in Melbourne are street, park, transitional and longboarding (or cruising). 8 melbourne.vic.gov.au/skate Who skates? Melbourne has a high proportion of young people. People aged 15 to 29 years make up the largest proportion of the residential population in the municipality, at over 40 per cent (Melbourne For All People 2013). Skating attracts a large proportion of young people. A survey of 324 skaters conducted by the City of Melbourne and YMCA in September 2015 indicated that: • 60 per cent of skaters were under the age of 18, and 85 per cent were under the age of 25. • Skateboarding is currently a male dominated sport with 95 per cent surveyed being male. A growing global community Skating is no longer an underground subculture. It is now recognised as a legitimate sport and recreational activity by many governing bodies and will make its debut as an Olympic sport in 2020, with both street and park styles included. Participation in small-wheeled activities like skateboarding and scooter riding is now one of the most popular activities of Victorian children. Victorian children (aged 5–14) participation in recreational, cultural and leisure activities. 200k 400k 600k Watching TV, DVDs, 651,700 other screens 651,700 **Bike riding 435,900 **Skateboarding, roller- blading, scooting 362,300 **Swimming 131,300131,300 Football 104,900104,900 (AUS rules) **Basketball 93,70093,700 Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2012 **These activities are Olympic sports Skate Melbourne Plan 2017–2027 9 10 melbourne.vic.gov.au/skate Risks to other city users from skating The legality, risks and include personal safety such as the risk impacts of skating of collision with a skater or runaway board. The City of Melbourne seeks to Skating is legal minimise risks where it reasonably can (as occurs with other active modes of Skating is seen by the Victorian transport) by thoughtful design of public Government as a legitimate recreational spaces, engaging with the community activity that should be supported for and promoting respectful skating.