SURVEY BACKGROUND The Edwardstown Soldiers Memorial Recreation Ground play space has been identified in Council s Play Space Strategy for upgrade in the 2014/15 financial year. In addition to the upgrade of the play space, the courts and oval lighting will be upgraded. To assist Council in developing a concept plan for the Edwardstown Soldiers Memorial Recreation Ground playground, courts and lighting upgrade, we sought the community s thoughts and ideas on what they would like to see. Feedback from the survey, the on-site community consultation session (held 14 th June 2014), and social media, will assist in developing a draft concept plan for discussion with the community. For further information on the upgrade at Edwardstown Soldiers Memorial Recreation Ground please visit the City of Marion website at http://www.marion.sa.gov.au/edwardstownmemorial-oval or contact Alice Ralph, Open Space and Recreation Planner on 7420 6600. SURVEY RESPONSE PARTICIPATION The online survey opened in early January 2014, with a closing date of 27 June 2014. Letters informing about the consultation and online survey were posted to 944 residents that lived in the nearby area, as well as emails sent to 171 registered participants for the Edwardstown Soldiers Memorial Recreation Ground Master Plan. We received 35 responses. Q1 WHAT IS THE AGE RANGE THAT YOU BELIEVE THIS PLAY SPACE SHOULD BE TARGETED AT? The majority of respondents (31, 46%) wanted the play space to be targeted towards 4 11 year olds. A quarter of respondents (16, 24%) wanted the play space targeted towards 0-3 year olds, while 18% wanted the play space targeted to 12+ year olds, and 12% for Adults. Respondents were able to select more than one category. P a g e 1
Q2 WHAT PLAY ELEMENTS WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN THE NEW PLAY SPACE? ACTIVE PLAY Swinging (27) and Climbing (27) play elements were the most favoured, closely followed by sliding (25). This was followed by multi-purpose court (17), spinning (12) and other (5). Other responses suggested exercise equipment and fencing of the play space. Respondents were able to choose more than one category. CREATIVE PLAY Natural Play (28) and Balancing (26) were the most favoured creative play elements. Interactive Panels (18) was also popular, followed by Education (12), Sand Play (10), and Musical (5). Other responses suggested water play and water feature. Respondents were able to select more than one category. QUIET PLAY The favoured Quiet Play elements were Shelter (25) and Seating (24). Landscaping (18) and Exploring (17) were also rated highly, followed by Imaginative (12) and Viewing (10). Other responses suggested stairs such as wide amphitheatre stairs and lighting. Respondents were able to select more than one category. P a g e 2
Q2 WHAT PLAY ELEMENTS WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN THE NEW PLAY SPACE? (Cont d) SOCIAL PLAY Seating (28) and BBQ/Picnic (27) were the most favoured Social Play elements. Respondents also requested a covered seating area, sails for sun protection, drink fountain and open space. Respondents were able to select more than one category. Q3 WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE AS PART OF THIS PLAY SPACE? Respondents were asked to rank the categories from 1 10 with 1 being the most important. Pathways / Connections / Accessibility, and Shade were considered the most important items. Bench seat, shelter and picnic table were also favoured items. Items that were considered as lower importance included drinking fountain, more funds spent on a range of play equipment, garden beds / tree planting, and BBQ. Q4 DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS REGARDING THE PLAY SPACE AND COURT UPGRADE? There were many comments in support of the play space upgrade. Equipment was highly valued for both children and adults with many suggestions for types of equipment and play spaces that residents particularly liked. Access issues were raised regarding the existing playground being locked during football games. Toilets were requested by a couple of residents. For a full list of the comments, see Appendix 2. Suggestions for use of the courts including for tennis, basketball and netball. P a g e 3
Q5 ARE YOU A MEMBER OF A CLUB OR COMMITTEE BASED AT THE EDWARDSTOWN SOLDIERS MEMORIAL RECREATION GROUND? The majority of respondents (83%) are not a member of a club or committee based at the Edwardstown Soldiers Memorial Recreation Ground, while 17% are. Q6 DO YOU USE THE FACILITIES AT THE EDWARDSTOWN SOLDIERS MEMORIAL RECREATION GROUND? The majority of respondents (83%) use the facilities at the Edwardstown Soldiers Memorial Recreation Ground, while 17% do not. P a g e 4
Q7 WHAT IS YOUR LEVEL OF SUPPORT FOR UPGRADING THE OVAL LIGHTING? There was a high level of support for upgrading the oval lighting, with 43% strongly supporting and 37% supporting. 20% of respondents were neutral, while no respondents opposed or strongly opposed the oval lighting upgrade. Q8 HOW DO YOU BELIEVE THE PROPOSED LIGHTING UPGRADE WILL IMPACT ON YOU? Residents responded that the proposed lighting upgrade would have no impact on them (56%) or a positive impact on them (44%). No respondents thought there would be a negative impact from the oval lighting upgrade. P a g e 5
Q9 WHAT IS THE KEY ISSUE(S) THAT MATTER THE MOST TO YOU IN REGARDS TO THE OVAL LIGHTING UPGRADE? The majority of respondents (29) believe there will be improved safety for people using the facility. A high number of respondents (24) also believe there will be better facilities for the community to enjoy. A small number of respondents believe that there will be: Environmental benefits (5) Increased noise (4) Increased traffic in the area (3) The new oval floodlights will be a nuisance to you and other residents (2) Q10 DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS REGARDING THE OVAL LIGHTING UPGRADE? A number of comments were received regarding the lighting upgrade. Generally feedback was positive and highlighted a range of benefits from upgrading the lighting. For a full list of the comments, see Appendix 2. P a g e 6
APPENDIX 1 Q1 Do you have any comments or suggestions regarding the play space and court upgrade? Comments. PLAY SPACE Basketball ring, play area with climbing equipment and also challenging equipment as well No NO tree bark or wood chip/mulch- please use Poured Rubber or Rubber Tiles Dog (pet) friendly A 'club house' to encorage organised tennis netball basket ball and cricket groups Include Cricket nets open to the public Fully support this concept. I have thought for some time that this area has untapped potential. Bring it on (soon)! Keep the tennis courts, upgrade them as suggested. Consider coin-operated net hire to recover costs. Secure fencing with child lock gate. Separate sex toilet within fence - safe access with more than 1 child. Trees for shade instead of shade cloth. Windproof shelter to be able to breastfeed and keep babies warm. Appreciate play equiptment is expensive so a few appropriate pieces better than 6 items that are not all appropriate. Under 3 often on ground as safe so low bench no more than 30 cm from ground. Forget sandpits as unhygeinic unless tightly covered. A water feasture is wonderful but not good as this age will want to get wet only and bec omes a burden. A bird house in trees dood Wide safe slippery dip and a few safe paths and wide steps to toddle around. A ampitheatre set up (not too deep ) can double as picnic space A connected track (paved) bike/walking for children would be excellent,so children can have a safe place to ride. Currently the oval track is used by high speed bikes the majority of the time. Upgrade of the playspace with new equipment such as at Goodwood Oval. It should take connect and tie in with other uses of the oval in regard to viewshed etc. The play equipment will need to be durable. We'd love to see soft-fall rubber matting or equivalent under play equipment where falling is likely. Sorry we couldn't attend the consultation day - would have been great! Adventure playgrounds seem to be the way but with 2 area, 1 could be adventure (larger) and other could be BBQ. Suggest that lighting could be considered for play areas and courts. Please make it attractive, Edwardstown needs a facelift. Flying fox and lots of plants. I would like it if you also looked at the roundabout on Raglan and Towers right next to the recreation area - it is shameful, usually filled with weeds and few very unattractive shabby plants. Adults exercise equipment, garden beds, sensory, shade over playground. COURTS Would like to see court area properly utilised- tennis, basketball and netball. Would like to see bright vibrant colours on court surfaces. Play space needs to provide for families and allow access for young children but challenges for older children. Casual tennis and basketball The tennis courts were previously used for netball. The hold for the netball ring is still there - can this be reused? TOILETS Would love to have toilet facility if possible Toilet facilities ACCESS Access to these areas since access to the whole area is shut off (gates locked) during senior games when the entry fee applies. Please note the current playground is locked during senior football and cricket games with this location - is this going to continue? As a multi-purpose area having it locked is counter to the idea. Can consideration be given P a g e 7
to access by prams / wheelchairs and kids bikes to the walking track around the oval. I am concerned about the stepped banking near the proposed area as children can easily fall quickly. You may need to consider fencing. TREES Need shade - if you take out mature trees please replace with mature trees - or the area will look very bare. Fencing. Maintenance - how many man hours will you allow to keep this area tidy, clean and maintained. Pine trees on East Terrace side should be removed. Roots of trees are affecting drains in East Terrace - check with SA water. The roots are also the cause of surface degradation. Trees on the mound should also be removed before new lighting. If pine trees removed the courts could be moved closer to East Terrace and give more room for the playground. LIGHTING There should be a floodlight installed on nearby stobie pole fed from a time-clock that shuts off at 22:00 or before so that play space can be utilised at night in the summer. P a g e 8
APPENDIX 2 Q10? Do you have any other comments or suggestions regarding the oval lighting upgrade? Comments. LIGHTING: OTHER: You don't say how hight the towers or how bright the lights will be. there are cyclist that ride Tuesday and Thursday at 05:00am without lights. Extend to the tennis courts! Then charge out for night time tennis at a reasonable rate to recover some of the costs. Safe, solar lighting between playground and toilets - perhaps sensor operated. Good lighting will make a huge improvement in the safe use of the bike track/velodrome and essentially create more opportunities for the use of the facility to be shared by different groups e.g. bike races could be programmed to start later because of better lighting. For the same reason it would also attract more events to the location and extend the seasonal use as sunset would no longer be a limiting factor. It also provides greater opportunity for other initiatives to locate at the venue like after school learn to ride / junior development sessions which would otherwise compete/conflict for time at the venue. The current stobie poles need replacing because they rust and get metal fatigue at ground level. Need more details on the type of lighting and hours of operation. Upgrading the lighting to a standard for safe play of night-time cricket would bring strong community outcomes for the facility. The current cricket club heavily supports local charities, and the opportunity to extend charity and community events into the evenings would draw wide appeal from community. Increased participation and associated well-being outcomes during the summer months would also flow as a direct result of lighting at a standard for competitive cricket. Subdued lighting to play areas for evening use with tennis court lighting? No but the periphery fencing is appalling and recently many trees have been removed, causing safety concerns. Cricket balls regularly hit my property in summer and come into the garden, I have two small children whom rarely can go out into our garden and a very dented fence. Can you consider additional car parking as there is a lack of car parking during senior football and cricket games, resulting in parking in neighbouring streets. As a community we need to realise the most valuable resource is our children as future communmity citizens. Lets stop being mean spirited and create fun safe spaces for all remember childrens play is there work and they need positive experiences in order to grow into positive responsible adults.to P a g e 9