Back on Jan. 13, Pemberton Councillor Lisa Ames said she had reservations about the proposed location of the long-sought Pemberton skateboard park, saying, “In a perfect world, no, I don’t think I would want the skatepark there.”

Ultimately, though, Ames and her council colleagues on that day voted to support Lot 12 as the future location of the facility, but to put up a sign on the site indicating that it’s exposed to electromagnetic fields.

Concerns about the potential health impacts of those fields from sources such as the overhead B.C. Hydro transmission lines were the sole reason given for Ames’ and others’ reservations about the site. In every other way, the site is ideal — it’s close to the youth centre and new Cottonwood Community Centre, it’s highly visible to police and the public, and it’s a short walking distance away from the largest concentration of residences, not to mention both public schools. True, it’s close to one of the busiest traffic thoroughfares in town, but that’s also one of its strengths — and if one is concerned about skateboards flying onto the road, it’s not difficult to put up a fence to prevent such occurrences.

Before they reached their decision, Pemberton lawmakers sought the public’s input on Lot 12. In an online survey that attracted 32 responses, 23 said they had no concerns while nine raised some concerns.

Of those, concerns about exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) from transmission lines were front and centre. The issue has been raised before; on Dec. 1, 2009, Caroline Lamont, Village of Pemberton manager of development services, presented a report on the issue to council that her surveys of the literature from the Canadian Cancer Society and Health Canada showed that no consistent relationship has been found between exposure to electromagnetic fields and the risk of cancer in adults and children. However, “the risk of childhood leukemia appears to be greater when EMF exposure is higher than levels normally found at home or in the community.” The report added that scientists haven’t been able to rule out other potential reasons for the increased incidence of childhood leukemia.

Over the past 10 days, though, those opposed to the chosen park location have put forth renewed effort to have the park moved away from Lot 12. Organizers of a petition drive say they’ve gathered almost 500 signatures from those opposed to that location, and more than 300 people have joined a Facebook group seeking to have the park moved away from the power lines.

Our question: Where were all these people when the Village’s online survey was conducted last December? In presenting her report back then, Lamont told lawmakers that this was a “tough one,” and we agree.

However, we think it’s time — after six years of planning, fundraising, more planning and still more fundraising — to move on and get the park built. The site, after all, has the endorsement of the Pemberton Skateboard Society for all the reasons mentioned above; the science on the health impacts of EMFs is inconclusive; the site has already been pre-loaded; and federal/provincial grant money totaling $230,000 is riding on completion of the project by next March.

The young people of Pemberton need a place to play that’s central, visible and as safe as a skateboard park can be, and a facility of which the entire community can be proud. Now is the time to give it to them.