Letter: New skate park planned for wrong space

Letter: Plan for skate park in the wrong place
To the editor:
The town of Wake Forest has plans to build a skate and pump (bike) park and 80-seat amphitheater at the intersection of Brooks Street and East Holding Avenue to the tune of $4.4M.
This parcel sits east of the Northern Wake Senior Center and the Brookdale Retirement/Nursing/Memory Care home, and across the street from the public library.
I am a member of the Neuse River Hawks, a chapter of the NC Wildlife Federation, and we’re hoping to convince the town that this location for a park of this type is inappropriate.
Not only will the parcel’s trees be clear-cut (one of the last remaining stands of trees in downtown Wake Forest), the parcel serves as a habitat for many creatures, including a deer herd along with a multitude of birds and other critters.
One of our biggest concerns about the location is because of the noise these types of parks generate. The town did not even have the courtesy to notify the nursing home people nor the owners of the pricey townhomes right there on BrooksStreet of their plans. The memory care people could be very disturbed by the noise as could be the retirement and assisted living people.
We have questions about the sale of the property, if the noise will be a big concern for the veterans who frequent the American Lodge on Holding, and whether the town will even have a public hearing on the development of the park.
Marian Kirchhoff
Neuse River Hawks Secretary
Wake Forest
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