HOW do you keep kids off the street? An answer, Wagga City Council says, is to build better skate parks.
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As work began on Ashmont's new and improved skate park earlier this week, it is hoped the finished product will attract youths in their droves.
Council's recreation officer, Peter Cook, said the new skate park, due for completion in three weeks, will be a new central hub for the Ashmont community.
Set to rival facilities in central Wagga and Kooringal, the skate park will boast a spine ramp, a table top ramp, roll overs, a quarter pipe and mogul.
"This is really the third major skate park in Wagga," Mr Cook said.
"You've only got to drive past them today, especially in the school holidays, and they are packed."
The construction of the park - which incorporates existing skate space at Webb Park - was thrown up to public opinion last year, with key stakeholders agreeing that the park would be a good community asset.
Stakeholders included NSW Police and business owners among other community groups such as the Ashmont Place Making Committee.
The old skate park contained a concrete bowl - later determined to be insufficient on its own for the youth in Wagga's west.
"It will really make it a new hub for the Ashmont community and for young people," Mr Cook said.
He said council is inviting eager artists to design artwork to be displayed on the skate park's outer walls.
Clarification: An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to Wagga City Council recreation officer Peter Cook as strategic asset planner for parks and recreation Ben Creighton.