By DANIELLE GALVIN
A GROUP of Cockatoo parents is calling for a BMX track at Alma Treloar Reserve to keep their children out of mischief.
The campaign for a BMX track in town is gaining momentum with an 500 signature online petition and a Facebook page set up by a group of local parents.
Trevor Phillips from the Cockatoo BMX Sub-Committee said Cardinia Shire Council should make use of the land next to the off-leash dog area at the reserve.
“A BMX track would be somewhere the whole family can go,” he said.
“We have another whole generation coming up in this town and I don’t want my kids growing up and getting into mischief and doing stuff that’s not right.
“They need somewhere where they can go and wear themselves out.
“I used to ride and hang out at a BMX track and people would come from all over the place.”
Mr Phillips said there were a number of smaller towns in the shire that had jumps tracks, BMX tracks and other similar facilities.
“Our view is to build something where BMX clubs could hold race meets here,” he said.
Mr Phillips’s partner Kathy Brown said the skate bowl was geared towards experienced older riders.
“Young kids totally miss out – our children are 11 and they can’t use it,” she said.
“We need somewhere safe for them to ride to school but it’s not encouraged because of how dangerous the roads are.”
The council’s recreation development co-ordinator Mark Stahel said the council supports skate and BMX activities in the shire and would be developing a new skate and BMX strategy in the 2014-15 financial year.
“While the group has Alma Treloar Reserve in mind as the site for a BMX track, there are a number of factors the council would need to consider before it decides whether a track can be constructed and where it would be located,” he said.
