St Thomas Rest Park Playground Refurbishment

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2020

In accordance with Council’s Playgrounds Plan of Management, and with strong community support, St Thomas’ Rest Park Playground has recently been revitalised. With a suite of new and refurbished play equipment this much-loved playground now offers a perfect balance between the old and new.

The final design incorporated many suggestions received from regular park users during the community engagement process; resulting in a playground that genuinely meets the needs of local families. Some of the new aspects include replacement of the existing carousel with a new, ground level, wheelchair accessible carousel, replacement of the old seesaw with a larger, more accessible see-saw and two new seats on the swings; one fully accessible with safety harness and arm-power option, and another that can carry an adult and child together!

The much-loved train engine has been replaced with a brand-new version that has an inclusive carriage behind it, and there is a fantastic new in-ground trampoline that can even accommodate a wheelchair. The rubber safety surfacing has been replaced and expanded to incorporate a fun ‘Twister’ game and the old picnic tables have been replaced with new timber-look furniture. Some of the unique original play items have been retained and refurbished including the critter climber, the rocket rockers and the main slide and deck structure.

The extensive playground gardens are now more densely planted, and a new stepping-stone trail winds through them. The old bubbler has been replaced with a filtered water drinking station with bottle refill option.

The result of this refurbishment is a cohesive play facility that continues to sit neatly into the surrounding landscape. It provides parents and carers with comfortable supervision points, and children of all abilities with a safe, stimulating and challenging play-space where they can interact with their friends and enjoy the beautiful garden and parkland setting.

UPDATE MARCH 2020

RESULTS OF COMMUNITY CONSULTATION

There was extremely strong support for the refurbishment project and the concept of keeping the playground essentially the same. Many respondents advised that they regularly use this park, often several times per week, making their comments and suggestions extremely valuable due to their intimate understanding of how the existing playground is used.

Comments, themes and Council’s responses are listed below:

• The swings are very popular so any opportunity to increase capacity would be good
  • If budget permits, Council will switch one toddler seat for the two-person ‘parent and child’ style seat similar to the one at Kesterton Park
• The trampoline is a great idea but might be better located elsewhere within the playground
  • Council will endeavour to reposition the trampoline within the playspace
• Bubblers are hard to use with toddlers
  • Council will install a new bubbler which incorporates a bottle refill option.
• A sandpit would be good.
  • Sandpits require daily inspection and maintenance so unfortunately this cannot be accommodated in this park.

Feedback closed 5pm Monday 24 February 2020.

Council is refurbishing the existing play space in St Thomas Rest Park and invites feedback on our plans.

BACKGROUND

The existing playground is approximately 15 years old and has been very well-used during this time. Council will revitalise this popular facility while retaining the beautiful leafy garden character of the existing playground. The refurbishment will retain most of the existing elements but will aim to increase functionality and accessibility and where space permits, some new smaller play elements may be added.

Playground Concept

The existing playground layout and facilities have served the community well and have been much-loved. Therefore, the refurbished playground will remain essentially the same. The existing colour scheme will be retained and any new equipment or materials will be sympathetic to the existing character.

What will be refreshed?

- Change one swing seat on the larger swing set to an accessible ‘arm-powered’ seat

- Replace existing carousel with a new, ground level, wheelchair accessible carousel

- Replace and reposition the existing seesaw with a larger more accessible seesaw

- Refurbish the main slide and deck structure, critter climber and spring rockets

- Refurbish the existing train engine climber and add a spring-mounted, accessible ‘train carriage’ behind the engine

- Add a new small in-ground trampoline

- Add a new rubber stepping stone and balancing activity

- Add free-standing activity panels in accessible locations e.g. clock, tic tac toe, maze.

- Re-surface the existing rubber softfall and expand the rubber in key areas to provide better access.

- Replace existing picnic tables with new timber-look furniture (consistent with Council’s new design palette) and add a new timber-look park seat

- Embellish all existing gardens by adding more planting.

The result of this refurbishment should be a cohesive play facility that continues to sit neatly into the surrounding landscape, providing parents and carers with comfortable supervision points and children of all abilities with a safe, stimulating and challenging play-space where they can interact with their friends and enjoy this beautiful parkland setting.

Note: there are no changes proposed to the surrounding parkland, please only provide feedback on elements of the play space.

If you would like further information on this proposal, contact Melissa McManus on 9936 8100.