In Rennes, the La Poterie skatepark has just been closed by the municipality, which has banned its access for security reasons.
The regulars of the place are furious because they have been asking for years for facilities and work to allow the practice of skateboarding, rollerblading, BMX and scooters.
On the eve of the start of the Rennes sur Roulettes event, the news went very badly with the freestyle associations.
The news hasn't even been announced.
Tuesday evening, metal construction barriers surrounded the La Poterie skatepark in Rennes.
For communication only, the many snow sports enthusiasts who frequent the premises have found small posters indicating that access to the ramps is prohibited "for safety reasons".
And that's all.
A two-line email was sent to a handful of supervisors who use the ramp but without any explanation.
A sudden decision that angered users.
Considered the largest skatepark in Rennes, this spot is well known to practitioners.
Every day, dozens of skateboards, scooters, BMXs and rollerblades come here to ride and survey the heights of the old modules.
“There are always people here.
And they take it away from us, without saying a word.
It's amazing”, testifies, bitter, Alexis sitting on his skateboard.
A few days before the organization of Rennes sur Roulettes, a precursor event in France, the decision went badly.
Very bad.
At La Poterie, the degradation of the ramp modules is known to everyone.
For several years, regulars have been alerting the municipality to the worrying state of the structure.
“There are holes everywhere, screws sticking out.
We are dotted with paint to show where there are holes.
In places it is a little dangerous.
But we've been telling them for years and that it's poorly maintained, ”denounces Malo, who has been skating here for ten years.
According to our information, an alarmist report was issued by a risk analysis firm.
The news arrived Friday at the sports department of the municipality.
“The design office told us that the site was dangerous.
We didn't hesitate long and we closed.
We don't want to put users in any danger."
Since the ramp closed, skaters are almost the only ones to frequent the few concrete modules that are still open.
Camille, in her twenties, is upset.
“The ramps were almost the only ones in town for rollerblades, BMXs and scooters.
They have nothing now”.
Last year, a large ramp had already been closed and then dismantled in several months without any explanation.
"We weren't told anything.
It was there, like that.
If we had done it ourselves, we could have dismantled it in a week”, slip the riders.
A project with a participatory budget that is slow to come
Beyond “free” practitioners, the modules are also used by several associations which welcome children and adults here for weekly freestyle lessons.
“And what do I say to the parents?
Since Tuesday, we have nothing.
We make fun of our mouth.
The city has been alerted to the condition for five years.
We are the ones who constantly repair it.
And there, we close it overnight, ”balances Cédric Le Bihan.
A fine connoisseur of the file, the founder of the 9dot8 school is beside himself.
“You don't dismantle a ramp like you dismantle a slide.
It is a disregard for our sports practice.
The city doesn't care and has been stalking us for years.
I tell them: stop taking us for puppets”.
"It's not a fight of good guys against bad guys.
We are going to roll up our sleeves and do the best and as quickly as possible, ”answers Frédéric Bourcier, who lives in the neighborhood.
To do it "as quickly as possible", the municipality is thinking about renting modules, the time to think about a future development.
A pump track could also be built near the ramp.
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Unable to invest in new equipment for riders, the municipality had advised practitioners to go through the participatory budget.
" We did it !
We did everything we were asked to do and we still have nothing.
However, when you have to kick the skaters out of Place Hoche, there are people there, ”Malo annoys.
Selected thanks to the vote of the inhabitants, the renovation and expansion project was supposed to be endowed with an envelope of 250,000 euros.
It was over a year ago.
But since then, absolutely nothing has happened.
“I think we have been patient, very patient.
But there, we are taken for a walk, ”denounces Cédric Le Bihan.
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Two days to ride and slide
Installed on the Esplanade de Gaulle, the Rennes sur Roulettes event will show all that the discipline has to offer: inline skating races, freestyle competitions, demonstrations of scooters, BMX, skateboarding and even a roller skating evening. dance from 10 p.m. Saturday on the esplanade.
Free event.
reindeer
skateboarding
Roller
Scooter
bmx
Skateboard
Extreme sport
Brittany