Skatepark questions, answered

The Australian Standard for skateparks (AS EN 14974:2021) requires a safety and function inspection every year. We also recommend inspections during construction and a defects inspection on completion, so your park is built to the relevant standards and meets community expectations.

See our skatepark inspection service.

We carry out a thorough site inspection against the relevant standards (including AS EN 14974:2021), current trends and our own experience, and we skate the park. We measure and document with tape, levels and LiDAR, and check the concrete (cracks, finish and strength), steel (condition, fixings and lifespan), drainage and landscape infrastructure. The report ranks hazards by priority and covers function, recommended repairs and costs, so council can plan the next steps to make the skatepark safe and well used.

Often, and ideally, yes. Our recently built projects at Strathfield (NSW) and Pearcedale (VIC) both started with an annual inspection, which led to repairs and then the design of extensions to these older but well-loved skateparks. At Ray Bastin Reserve (VIC), we replaced tired modular ramps with bespoke in-situ concrete elements and ground back the existing slab, giving the park a whole new life.

See the Ray Bastin Reserve project.

A good skatepark gets used, again and again, by riders and by people who come to watch and hang out. It’s designed with the local community, makes the most of the site, and is unique to its town. It caters for every kind of rider at every skill level, and helps them progress. And it’s finished with the paths, seating, shade and planting that make it a destination for everyone.

Most start with locals approaching their council. Ask what’s planned for an older, worn-out park, whether any new parks are planned, or whether council has a skatepark strategy. Once council engages a qualified skatepark designer, the process is: consultation, concept design, a second round of consultation, funding and construction plans, with a few steps in between. We can help at any stage, from funding applications to construction reviews. At Ltyentye Apurte (Santa Teresa, NT), we worked with the community for five years to get their park built, but every park starts somewhere. Get in touch with any questions.

Read about Ltyentye Apurte Skatepark.

Most of the skateparks we design cost between $400,000 and $800,000, and some larger projects run to several million dollars. It depends on the town and the brief. Is it a regional town with a small number of riders, a central park in a big metropolitan area, or a multi-use space? An early step in every project is locking in what can be delivered for the budget, so expectations are clear and the park can be built.

See our costing service.

It can be as quick as two months, as with Tatura Skatepark, or take several years. On average, the design stage takes around six months, from site inspection to final tender documents. The timeline depends on budget, approvals (client, community and authorities), funding applications and funding itself.

Read about Tatura Skatepark.

We embrace community consultation, because it’s a genuine opportunity for locals to shape their park. That can mean informal drop-in sessions at the existing skatepark or park, primary and secondary school workshops, town hall meetings and online questionnaires. Ideally we hold consultation both before and after the concept design, so we can present the design back to the community. All responses are summarised and shared in a design report for each project. We hold current Working With Children Checks.

See our community consultation service.

Our designs have been built by most of the skatepark construction companies in Australia, but we have no official ties to any of them. That means our designs aren’t shaped by a builder’s overheads. They’re designed to the budget and reflect real market costs. Being independent also means there’s no conflict of interest when it comes to the budget, or to our advice during tender and construction.

We’re based in Woodend, in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges, and we’ve delivered projects right across Australia, from metropolitan Sydney to remote communities in Central Australia. Our volunteer projects take us to under-resourced communities around the world.

See our projects and volunteer work.

We do all design work in-house and collaborate with specialists where needed: our mates at Baseplate (skatepark designers), professional skateboarders and riders, our structural engineers Kennedy Bell Infrastructure, and local consultants such as geotechnical engineers, service locators, arborists and trades.

We have designed pump tracks, but where a community asks for one we often recommend a blend of pump track and skatepark instead. It gives riders more flow and creativity, and keeps them interested for longer. Pearcedale (VIC) is a recent example: riders can do laps of the whole space or session individual areas.

Yes. Eastbywest and Baseplate founded The Skatepark School, which trains the next generation of skatepark designers. Students from Australia to Peru have completed our courses, which are used both as a self-paced (DIY) course and in school classrooms.

Visit The Skatepark School.