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Canberra skateboarders are calling for better maintenance of skate parks in the capital, saying many are in a state of "disrepair". Skaters have said conditions at many skate parks in the territory have become dangerous due to to cracks and fractures in the concrete. Vice-president of the Canberra Skateboarding Association Brenden Wood said the long delay to simple repairs at skate parks had forced many skaters to make the repairs themselves. "We're trying to do the right thing and report everything first, but when it takes too long, users are doing repair jobs themselves," he said. "We had some wins in the past and [the government] responded quickly, but other times they don't, and when that happens people have to make repairs themselves, which I don't think they should have to do." Mr Wood said the many cracks in the concrete at large skate parks such as those in Belconnen and Woden posed an injury risk to many skaters. He also said safety barriers at the Belconnen skate park had been vandalised. "Some of the metal barriers installed to stop skateboards falling into the creek were ripped off and thrown into the wetlands and we reported it numerous times," he said. "Months went by without it being reattached, so skateboarders ended up reattaching it themselves." While the ACT government has partnered with commercial owners on an $18,000 mural at the Cooyong Street skatepark, Mr Wood said little money had been spent on repairs on other Canberra skateparks. He said the funds would best be spent on upgrades, and launched an online campaign asking other skaters to identify other areas in need of repairs. Mr Wood said the skateboarding association did try to establish an ACT skatepark strategy with the previous territory government, but talks have stalled since last year's election. While the association's vice-president and skater of 15 years said more consultation was needed with the ACT's skateboarding community in order to better determine outcomes. "We need some sort of guidelines that local government can follow that outlines the priority for skatepark users and the best practices to maintain problems," he said. "While they are putting some effort in, it seems their priorities are all over the place, and the people making the decisions aren't skateboarders." A spokesman for the ACT government said more than $700,000 had been spent since 2013 in major upgrades to Canberra's skateparks. He said while response times to maintenance requests depends on the request type, the government was open to further discussions. "While previous discussions regarding potential development of an ACT skateboarding strategy have not been progressed, the ACT government remains open to further discussions with the local skateboard community about the possibility of such a strategy," the spokesman said.

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