Survey: community garden or skate park on a vacant lot

In my opinion the vacant lot should become a community garden. I live in an apartment near the lot, and I have no yard, so I really want a place to grow my own vegetables.

Many people in our neighbourhood live in apartments like me. A garden plot can give us a chance to be in nature and grow fresh food. The yearly fee is small, so most of the people can pay it. Also there will be a shared tool shed, so we don't need to buy our own tools. I think gardening is good for the healthy and it help people to relax after work.

The garden also can make the neighbours closer. People will meet in the garden, they can share their vegetables and give advices to each other. Children can learn how plants grow.

A skate park is fun for teenagers, but it is only for one group of people. Also skate park can be noisy and sometimes have problems in the night.

So I choose the community garden.

I would like the vacant lot to be turned into a small skate park. I think our neighbourhood really needs a place for young people to spend their free time.

Right now, there is not much for teenagers to do after school in our area. Many of them skate in parking lots or on the sidewalks, which can be dangerous for them and for other people. My son is fifteen and he is often told to leave when he skates in the parking lot of the shopping centre. A skate park would give teenagers like him a safe place where they are allowed to skate and ride their scooters.

Another reason is that the skate park would be free for everyone to use. Not all families can afford to pay for sports or other activities for their kids.

A community garden would be nice, but only a small number of people would be able to use it.

That is why I think the skate park is the better choice for our neighbourhood.

I favour the skate park for the donated lot. My fourteen-year-old son rides a scooter, and the places available to him currently depend on whether someone asks him to move along.

Last week, a driver told him and his friends to leave the grocery-store parking area. The request was understandable: a space used by cars is a poor place to practise. Dedicated ramps and rails would give young riders a legitimate destination, separating their activity from parking traffic. It would also create somewhere to meet beyond school, with a shared interest making conversation easier.

Access matters too. I grow herbs on our balcony and would appreciate a garden plot, but forty rented plots have limited capacity. A free park could serve rotating groups of riders, although families would still need a board, scooter or bicycle.

Noise should be considered during design, with neighbours consulted on hours and the placement of ramps. Those measure would need review after opening rather than a promise of silence. Nevertheless, the park fills a clearer gap for my family: a place where teenagers can pursue their hobby with the community's permission.