A resident of the Pine Crescent neighbourhood in Blackfalds is pleased that council will reconsider installing skatepark equipment in a nearby park.

The town’s plan was to move leftover equipment from the old skatepark near the arena to the southeast neighbourhood.

That prompted a petition by resident Crista Snider, who surveyed about 50 nearby homes for a petition, with most people against the idea. She presented it to council on May 22 and got her desired outcome — council will now hear a report from staff on June 12 that will include resident feedback.

“That’s exactly what we were hoping for. They were planning to start maybe beginning of June with construction so we wanted to get in there before they started doing that,” Snider said.

“There wasn’t really any information given out or an opportunity for people to speak before they decided to put it in. My hope in doing that was just so people could express their concerns and opinions if they had any. I think now, council is realizing that’s necessary.”

Many residents believe the park would be a nuisance and letters sent to council reflect similar  worries — over the loss of green space and decrease in property values related to anti-social behaviours that they say the park would attract such as vandalism, graffiti, bullying.

Others question why the town would be building a second skatepark when it already has the Optimists All Wheels Park.

Mayor Richard Poole said council has heard their concerns.

“We are definitely listening to what the citizens in the area are presenting us with,” Poole said.

“We were told that there was the possibility that we should’ve been a little bit more involved in consultation and we’re just taking that into account.”

Original plans for the Pine Crescent Park called for a playground, picnic tables and an outdoor rink. Those projects are going ahead, Poole said.

However, the skatepark was something extra that the town thought residents would enjoy.

“We thought that might be an opportunity to put in an addition that would be appreciated by the folks on the east side of the Highway 2A,” Poole said.

“We’ve been hearing that for the last couple of years that the citizens in general want more facilities over there.”