Hard work ahead for skatepark

About 30 Montague residents, mostly teen skateboarders and BMX riders, turned out Wednesday night for a meeting about a proposed skate park for the eastern P.E.I. community.

The meeting heard there is still a lot of work to do before construction can even begin on the park. Firstsupporters need to identify a location for the 10,000-square-foot park, then Montague Town Council has to approve it. Finally they'll need to come up with a portion of the $150,000 to $200,000 price tag.

A committee was struck to move the project forward. Coun. Peggy MacLeod is spearheading the project, and she's confident the committee will get the job done.

"I know the skateboarders and bmxers will work hard too to fundraise because they really want this," said MacLeod.

"They're tired of people telling them to get away and 'don't be hanging around outside here,' and 'don't be skateboarding here.'"

For 16-year-old BMX rider Dylan Menzie, there are safety issues as well.

"If you were going up to a stair set, and there was a big crack in the way, you could hit the crack and fall over the stair set," said Menzie.

"If you had a place where you wouldn't need to worry about all that stuff it would be a lot easier."

MacLeod hopes the new skatepark will be ready bythis time next year.