THE MUNCHIES Skate Park will be no more with the City of Fremantle’s lease with the Public Transport Authority coming to an end next week. 

The council says the PTA “intends to increase the number of parking bays” alongside Beach Street to “better serve” public transport users. 

“The PTA’s decision to take back the carpark will impact the skate park… as part of the lease terms, all of these fixtures must be removed, to restore the site to its original condition prior to occupation,” a statement from the City said. 

“While the City welcomes the PTA’s efforts to help commuters with the closure of the Fremantle Traffic Bridge, [which is] something the City has been advocating for, it is disappointed that it will have flow-on effects for the community. 

“Goodwill services providers will continue to operate from their current location for the foreseeable future.”

A Fremantle soup kitchen has been operating on the car park for several years.

The Munchies skatepark was built in 1999 and has long been “an important community asset” and a “hub for grassroots skateboarding”, according to WA Skating Association secretary Rowan White. 

“While we understand the demand for more park and ride facilities, particularly with the impending closure of the old traffic bridge, the few parking bays provided by the space occupied by the skatepark would have a negligible impact on congestion during the Fremantle Traffic Bridge’s closure,” Dr White said. 

Detriment

“We believe the detriment caused by the loss of this beloved community asset far outweighs the small relief it will give to traffic congestion during that time period. 

“Sprawling car parks that facilitate car-oriented transit should not by prioritised by the PTA over a long-term, local community asset.” 

The announcement comes after developer Human Urban appealed a decision to preserve the Woolies skate ledge at the Elders Woolstores less than a kilometre away, so Dr White says it’s “all the more important” to preserve the Munchies spot. 

“The Cantonment Street precinct has several impending developments that will bring in thousands of new residents to the area, many of them young, active people,” he said. 

“With this will come a new demand for new recreational facilities. 

“Destroying this existing one with no future plan to replace [it] does not make sense and is incredibly shortsighted as it is being demolished to ease the pressure on the carpark while the traffic bridge is closed temporarily next year,” Dr White told the Herald.

by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER