14 May, 2015

Shaping A Place For All In The Park Lands

City of Adelaide and the Adelaide Park Lands Authority are calling on all people to help shape the future of the Park Lands’ by sharing their ideas during an online discussion open now at shape.adelaideparklands.com.au.

Lord Mayor Martin Haese said he wants the success of Picture Adelaide 2040, where hundreds of stories about the City and Park Lands were shared, to continue through the shape.adelaideparklands.com.au online forum.

“The Park Lands has a very special place in the hearts of many South Australians and it’s important that we understand what people hold dear, what they’d like to change, and where they see its unique and beautiful community spaces in the future,” said Martin.

“I’m encouraging everyone with an idea to join the online conversation and provide comment on how they see the Park Lands in the future. It’s important to gather as much feedback as we can so the parks and open spaces can be enjoyed by everyone for years to come,” he said.

Last year Council received and recorded over 1,000 stories through Picture Adelaide 2040 and five of the top ten places were in the Park Lands demonstrating its significance to the community.

The five Park Lands locations featured were the Botanic Garden, River Torrens, Adelaide Oval, Victoria Square and Adelaide Zoo.

There are more than nine million individual visits to the Park Lands each year which is the equivalent to five visits each year for every person living in South Australia.

Council has delivered more projects in the Park Lands over the past five years than in the previous 25 years combined, with highlights including the redevelopment of Bonython Park, Victoria Park upgrade, the North Adelaide Dog Park and the extension of the Park Lands Trail.

Each year spaces in the Park Lands play host to a range of formal and informal activities both large and small.

Over 20 different sports are hosted in the Park Lands, almost 600 events, and over two million visits for informal recreation such as walking, cycling, picnics and playgrounds – or just relaxing - that is every year.

The consultation is open until mid-June 2015 and results will be put out for public comment later in 2015.

People can join the conversation at shape.adelaideparklands.com.au

Rebecca Draysey