Dr Ray Moynihan, Suffolk Park
Inspired by my six year old, I’d like to echo his wish that the new bike track and the Suffolk Community Garden can happily coexist (Echo, 27 January). My son’s visits to the Community Garden were highlights of his time at preschool, but he’s also a keen biker/rider.
The existing Suffolk skatepark is a great model, where kids of all ages play without fear of teasing or harassment. Sad recent incidents at the bike track in Shelley Drive in Byron involved a motorbike threatening small children, and verbal abuse of younger kids by older ones.
We trust that the new pump track will not celebrate that narrow old-fashioned toxic masculinity that author Tim Winton has so eloquently described. Competitiveness and aggression won’t equip our sons for the future, because as Winton says, ‘life is not a race, it’s not a game, and it’s not a fight’.
Let’s collectively ensure the new track is a place for fun, friendship, and physical activity, for all ages and genders, which benefits from a close relationship with the neighbouring Community Garden and its nurturing values.
