City takes park planning to ‘next level’

Playground equipment and park facilities will be greatly improved with the City today endorsing tighter design parameters for the popular outdoor play spaces.

The city has around 2,300 parks, with Council spending $73 million annually on maintaining and upgrading amenities. 

Lifestyle Chair Hermann Vorster said new design principles would ensure future parks met the highest standards to ensure value for Gold Coast residents and ratepayers. 

“We want to continue to be the best in Australia for beaches, outdoor lifestyle and our parks,’’ he said.

“Safety is the number one priority, followed by accessibility, cost and sustainability.’’

Cr Vorster said the new Park Design Guideline (PDG) had been trialled for two years in some of the Gold Coast’s most popular parks including Broadwater Parklands, Palm Beach Parklands, Damian Leeding Park, Pimpama’s Forest Green Playground and Aquila Park.

“Without these guidelines, the City runs the risk of wasting money on inappropriate designs, costly maintenance and a poor overall look for our parks.’’

Key elements of the guideline include design principles, general design guidelines, park categories, key design objectives and park data sheets.  

For information on City Parks visit: cityofgoldcoast.com.au/parks