The original plan had the children's playground right down near the library, and that block of land is quite skinny, restricting the opportunities to expand the playground at a later date. We said the playground should be up the other end, where the land parcel is wider for expansion, and closer to the shops and cafes. The LDA agreed with this.

 

Wind shelter

We were concerned about the strong cold southern winds that come up the Gungahlin Place corridor. LDA agreed and the revised plan has substantial shrub plantings around the southern side of the playground.

 

Shade

We pointed out how slowly the existing street trees are growing, and that the LDA could not rely on trees for shading of the playground. We also said that the adjacent seating for parents should also be shaded. The revised plans address this. We also suggested that stormwater should be directed from the kerbs into the base of the trees to ensure they got adequate watering, and this is to be included, so the trees will hopefully grow faster.

Grass
TaMS wanted no grass at all in the park - they seem to be working on the assumption that the drought will never end. LDA had areas of grass in the original plan but at the opposite end from the playground. We said that lawn should be included, and that it should be adjacent to the playground area. This has now been included.

Plantings
In the absence of further areas of grass to offset the quantity of paving, we said there should be substantial planting beds of bushes and other plants - not just paving and trees. The new plans have a lot of planted areas.

So what haven't they included?

We talked about the roadways of Gungahlin Place being closed off to all but loading zone traffic, and the current roads being integrated into the park with seamless paving and no kerbs, thereby almost doubling the park size and making a great alfresco area for the cafes and public. This was outside their brief and responsibility, said the LDA, but they would design it in such a way that this could be retro-fitted later of we could win the Government over to our idea.

We wanted a local design competition so the community could contribute to the outcome. They couldn't see past their way of doing big lengthy and expensive design competitions for professional architects, and refused.

We and the LDA both wanted a water feature retained, but TaMS refused - as mentioned above - they are obsessed with the drought. So instead we have a swirly three-dimensional art piece at the library end that is meant to represent a "Claytons" water feature if you like, but it will provide an additional play feature for children.

There was more, but these are the key issues. Some won - some lost, but the park should be better as a result of our efforts. Thanks to everyone in the community who added their voices to our survey, thus giving some weight to our case when we met with the LDA.