Skateboarder's death prompts razor wire, guard at Auckland's Victoria Park Skate Plaza

A skateboarder's death has prompted the installation of razor wire to stop people trying to skate down the wall of a structure linked to central Auckland's motorways.

Pitiphong Sangsirichat, 25, was seriously injured at the Victoria Park Skate Plaza on January 27 when he fell from the top of the structure. He died two days later in hospital. His death has been referred to the coroner.

A skating ramp at the park runs up to a sloping wall of a structure at the park. The structure is part of an emergency fire exit for people who need to get out of the motorway tunnel that passes underneath.

The new razor wire is intended to stop people from climbing onto the top of the structure to try to skate down the whole wall and onto the ramp.

Auckland Council general manager of community facilities Rod Sheridan said that following the death the council had worked with the New Zealand Transport Agency to prevent access to the top of the building.

"This has included having a security guard present on-site.

"NZTA have installed a solution to prevent people climbing up onto the roof of the portal and skating down the ramp. This has removed the risk.

"We have also been reviewing the design of the ramp to identify how we can remove any further risk of similar accidents occurring in the future.

"This has involved consultation with a specialist skate park designer and we will be engaging with skate park users before any changes are made.

"We are not aware of any other accidents of this magnitude having occurred at this skatepark since it was redesigned in 2011."