An internet debate about who has the right of way at the skate park, between an adult scooter rider and a parent supervising young children, has sparked an internet debate.
YouTuber Bradley Goudie said he recently went to the Gordon Spratt Reserve Skate Park just outside Tauranga on New Zealand’s North Island around 9:30am and found it busy, but returned an hour later.
The footage shows him asking a group of more than a dozen parents and young children to “just all jump off the park” as he was about to “speed through” them. One mother, whom he calls “Karen,” tells him to “wait her turn.”
“Hey team, just wanted to let you know that I’m going to be going through this really fast in 15 minutes, if you all want to jump off the hurdles,” Mr. Goudie said in the video.
“Are you asking us to move? You said that to me two weeks ago in the other park,” the woman replied.
“These kids were here before you, so you can sit here and wait for them to leave… They’re under five and it’s their turn.”
Mr Goudie explained in the video caption that he believes ‘children are more than welcome to skate at skate parks, but they should not be allowed to run, play, slide and eat snacks on the course’ as they have been doing up until now.
The verbal altercation continued as Mr. Goudie repeatedly cursed in front of the children and then ran through the park, jumping, doing somersaults and sliding down rails just inches from the parents and toddlers, prompting the woman to call the police.
An argument between a parent and a professional scooter rider over who has the right of way at a skate park has sparked an online debate
The woman told Mr. Goudie that she pays taxes and that the skate park is a public place.
He pointed the woman to a sign that said younger children “are encouraged to use the pump track or large skate park at quieter times of the day.”
However, the sign also reads: ‘The skate park is for everyone’ and the message: ‘Keep calm and wait your turn’.
At one point the woman told him to “get a job.”
“This is my fucking job,” Mr. Goudie replied.
The woman also warned him that there would be problems if he hit a child with his scooter. To this Goudie replied: ‘If I hit someone, I have warned you so many times’.
When the police officer arrived, Mr Goudie explained that he often encounters these types of situations and that he kindly asked the children to move aside for their own safety, as his handlebars were approximately at head height.
The officer admitted that the children can be “unpredictable” when walking around the skate park and told him that he had spoken to the group of parents and that they would be leaving soon anyway.
YouTuber Bradly Goudie said he often finds himself in this situation and asked the children to leave the park for their own safety.
Many commentators sided with Mr Goudie.
“Those kids were scattered around the park with bags and scooters, making it dangerous for everyone there,” one of them said.
“They are allowed in the park, but you are not allowed to sit on obstacles,” added another.
“It’s like sitting in the middle of a basketball court having lunch and people come up and say it’s a public court,” said a third.
“People who feel overly spoiled… there is a big park nearby for little kids, that’s for real scooter and skateboarders,” added a fourth.
However, some also sided with the parents and argued that the children have the right to use the facility.
“I have to agree with the lady, let the kids play. Remember when you were eight and adults stopped you from having fun?”
“What is an adult doing in a skate park on a Monday morning anyway,” said another.
“You cut out the part where you stood in one spot swearing and made two kids cry? The video was posted last night,” said a third.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Goudie for comment.
