COURTICE -- Neighbours of the newly opened Courtice skatepark say their worst fears have been realized.

And an attempt to solve the problems may have implications for park users across the municipality. Clarington councillors have granted preliminary approval to a bylaw which would close parks at dusk instead of 11 p.m., the current curfew.

Before the park opened, residents of the condominiums next door to the park appeared before council, concerned about potential noise and other implications if a skatepark was built on the land abutting their property.

Now, a survey of residents of condos abutting the Courtice Community Complex says those fears are coming true, said property manager Janine Wallace-Rivard. Respondents to the survey complain of "unacceptable loud noise from boom boxes," lights on too late, kids urinating outside, cars racing, foul language, drinking, pot smoking and drug deals, among other issues.

"It's not the kids who want to skateboard that are the problem," Ms. Wallace-Rivard said. "It's the ones who want to party after hours.

"Once the lights (at the park) get turned off, they'll use their headlights or rig up some sort of lighting system."

It's so bad that one condo dweller told Ms. Wallace-Rivard they've had to sleep in their basement to escape the noise. Others have put their homes up for sale -- in fact, right now, eight of 92 condos in the complex have "for sale" signs on them. That's an unusually high number and the turnover is slower than normal, said the property manager.

"They've been sitting (for sale) for a while," Ms. Wallace-Rivard said. "Normally, they'll go up (for sale) and they're gone quickly."

Even some of the kids who use the park admit it can get a little noisy in the area, but they say they're not necessarily to blame.

"The noise doesn't come from the skateboarders at all," said Ronnie Genno, a 14-year-old who was among an enormous group of kids at the park, named for deceased skateboarder Rob Piontek, Wednesday afternoon. "It's from the cars that are in the parking lot, playing loud music."

That sentiment was echoed by another skateboarder.

"They should just kick the people with the cars out," said Luke Sasnowski, 14.

Police have been called many times and are regularly seen around the park. Fourteen-year-old Dustin Trosko said boarders have been kicked out of the park around 9 p.m. by police, who indicated they had received noise complaints.

But the idea of closing all Clarington parks at dusk, which received preliminary approval last Monday with final approval slated for a council meeting on Monday, Sept. 15, isn't appropriate, they said.

"In the winter, that will be around four o'clock," said Ronnie.

A staff report, though, indicates this is the way to go, not only to curb noise at the Courtice site, but to increase public safety Clarington-wide.

"An individual alone in a dark, vacant park at night is at greater risk than someone in the same location during the day," reads the report.

Councillor Ron Hooper said this will help in areas like Bowmanville's Rotary Park, where after-dark activities have been a "huge issue."

"I think this is a step in the right direction," he said.