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What kind of children's activities would you and/or your family like to see at the play space?
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Comment 1 4 Nov 2009, 4:06 PM
Hi my name is Tom and I am 9 years old. My dad showed me this cool playground design, and said I could write here my favourite things for a giant playground.
In order starting with my MOST favourite things:
- Water squirting from the ground like a surprise and the mist area... like at Belmont where they have a mist volcano and water squirters
- Giant swings... not baby size. I like the drawing showing the the tall swing with the hills either side so if you jump off its not too far to the ground but you can still have a more…
Comment 1.1 4 Nov 2009, 4:33 PM
My name is Emma and I am Tom's sister. I am 6 and my dad is typing the things I tell him I like most:
- Spinning things that make you dizzy
- Maze for playing chasey... but not baby ones like at Kings Park - thats too easy
- Humungous swings
- Water slides and squirting things
- Bouncy castle sometimes
- Spider web
- Trampolines in the ground
- Cubby houses that are very big
- Big hide and seek area with hidey holes and tunnels
- Monkey bars, but different ones with twists and hard bits
- Interesting things to look at. I like the picture you have of all the stones glued together balancing, and things like crocodile statues and fairy statues in a cool garden with trees made into shapes and tunnels and a cubby house inside a tree trunk and on top like fairies live in
- A wet sand place
- Slippery slides but not just normal ones, long fun ones side by side with bends so I can race my brother
Thats all. Thank you for listening to me. I hope its a very very very awesome awesome park!
Comment 1.1.1 4 Nov 2009, 4:44 PM
Hi its me again - I just showed my 3 year old sister some of those pictures you have and she said she wants the mushrooms that squirt mist and also the sound and music garden with the things to bang and make noise. She thinks proper music comes out though when you press on things because she loves dancing so is there anything for playgrounds you can press a button and kids songs play for a bit that toddlers can dance to?
Comment 2 5 Nov 2009, 3:04 PM
I have 2 young children and aging parents. How lucky we are to have the space and resources to be able to consider such a diverse and creative place for many people of all ages to enjoy, and so close to the Swan river. My children and my parents will enjoy the proposed facilities with easy access, interesting changes in levels and close amenities. The park is not too close to houses.
Is the sound of Children playing considered noise???
Comment 2.1 6 Nov 2009, 4:22 PM
The sound of children playing in a playground during the day is a very pleasant noise, whereas, the sound of the cars and buses that deliver them to the park is not. The proposed night time functions in the park also has the potential to be somewhat disruptive for nearby residents. Simply moving the park a little further to the North - only a short walk for children and even aging parents - would reduce the impact. Reorienting the park to take car parks, toilet blocks, kiosks and maintenance sheds to the North and away from residents would also substantially reduce the problems, both aural and visual, for nearby residents. With a little consideration and intelligence, this park can be designed to be a space that both residents and visitors can enjoy. It's not really a big ask.
Comment 2.1.1 15 Nov 2009, 11:41 PM
I think you are being a little unfair on the shire. From the information we received at the shopping centre display they cant "simply move the park north" as they dont own the land and its mostly unstable from the old rubbish dump. The carpark shouldnt be moved as it would mean a whole new bitumen area and its current spot uses the bitumen already there where vehicle noise and movement already is, and they are only making it a bit bigger. The toilets need to be near there apparently for sewerage reasons and they are getting high tech self more…
Comment 3 5 Nov 2009, 8:15 PM
An area to rival Faulkner Park, Garvey Park and the new Ellenbrook water play ground is exactly what the Swan/Midland area requires. An area where mums and kids can meet, play and chat. Fully fenced would be another great idea or a section fenced so small children can not wonder to far away. Something with adequate toilets and possibly a small cafe would also be wonderful.
Comment 4 9 Nov 2009, 10:07 AM
As a mum of a very active 15 month old the concept looks amazing. At the moment - the only venues I am aware of that are real adventure playgrounds are Sticky Beaks in Kings Park and the one at Heathcoate. I think offering something different than the usual suburban park swing set is a fantastic idea. My daughter loves anything to do with water, sand and of course climbing. Different expereinces - as outlined in the concept design, that can be provided in a safe area (shaded, soft grounds, some fenced areas) is imperative. The location is a magical place -with its wildlife and natural flora and if the playground can integrate into the area even better. To support the park - I think that safe cross walk area from the train station across Gt Eastern Hwy also needs to be considered.
Comment 5 10 Nov 2009, 8:43 PM
I think that one of the sculptures every time someone touches it should squirt water. The super long slide should have water squirting down it. I liked the cool water play parts.
Comment 6 14 Nov 2009, 9:08 AM
We are 9 and 7 year old boys.
Our favourite things from the playground design are:
- all the water play equipment
- flying fox
- the long slides
- the cubby houses with rope bridges etc
We also like Tom's idea of the small skate/scooter park (for little kids).
We also think it'd be cool to be able to hire a canoe with our parents.
Mum would like to see a cafe, toilets and plenty of shaded areas. BBQ areas would also be good.
Comment 7 14 Nov 2009, 2:23 PM
Hi I'm Caitlen and I'm 4 years old. I think the playground is a great idea. I especially love the idea of the cubbies and the tree houses and lots of space to run around in nice gardens. Would love to see a small waddling pool to cool down when the weathers hot.
Comment 8 14 Nov 2009, 2:25 PM
Hi I'm Tristan- Caitlens younger brother, being 2 years old. I love how there are things for my big sister to play on and things for me and my little friends to play on without getting knocked over by the big kids!
Comment 9 15 Nov 2009, 9:05 AM
Hi my name is Ben and I am 6. My brother Connor who is 3, and sister, Delia who is 2 all came on to put our ideas forward.
We love the water play equipment that we saw. It is fun, especially in summer when it is hot.
We also feel that a huge pirate ship thing, with sand pit, like at Kings park would be fun. I know all of us love playing on that when we go there.
A huge spider climbing net is my favourite thing at Kings park, maybe one of those too.
I think an area for the babies would be good. My little sister is quite little still, and some of the bigger things, are just not safe for her just yet.
Rock climbing stuff sounds great.
But I think you need to think of things for the older type kids. I have a brother who is 11, and a sister who is 15 and both of them find this kind of thing very babyish and when we go to Kings Park they get bored.
Comment 10 15 Nov 2009, 6:34 PM
It's fantastic to see so many kids on here commenting on what they would like - it really shows how much this has sparked their imagination and is needed in this area.
We live in Woodbridge and have 2 kids, as well as 2 sets of their grandparents who live in the region, and elderly great grandparents who visit by train. All of us will love this park and use it often.
Our kids like all of the proposed activities and wouldnt change much, but they like Tom and Emma's ideas of a moderately difficult maze where they can play chasings... with more…
Comment 10.1 15 Nov 2009, 8:10 PM
Thank you shire of Swan for a discussion on new parks and public space in the older parts of the shire - It has been a long time waiting for projects outside of Ellenbrook...
Whilst it's lovely to hear the comments from children, I am hopeful that the concept will not be purpose built for only able-bodied children but an environment that will attract all ages and abilities. Far too many shires are content on creating public spaces only for the benefit of bored teenagers and often small areas out of the public view.
If this proposal was to go ahead I hope it will be a well lit, secure, open space that provides a place for enjoyment for all in the shire. By saying NO to toilets, NO formal sporting activities, NO Pedestrain river crossing and NO canal developments then it will be a completely wasteful exercise because no-one will want to discover the park and the wider community won't access it either...
Comment 10.2 17 Nov 2009, 11:26 PM
I have spoken a bit more with my grandparents about their ideas too. Getting increasingly frail, they particularly like the idea of the sensory gardens, heritage gardens and Noongar garden. They actually asked if there might be opportunities for them to help out and volunteer with caring for the plants as they are very keen gardeners but their garden got a little too much for them. So they are hoping to be able to go down and "potter" but with the comfort of knowing if they are not well enough to get down there for a while that the shire more…
Comment 11 18 Nov 2009, 8:51 PM
We have 3 children ranging in age and they were all very excited to see the plans up for viewing at Midland Gate recently. They grabbed all the information they could and have been studying it! Needless to say that our whole family are very excited about the plans and very much looking forward to hopefully seeing it all come together and bringing something into our community that will bring us all a little closer. We already have the Swan Valley lets keep making our little corner of Perth bigger and better :)
Comment 12 31 Dec 2009, 3:21 PM
Chidren activities that will be interesting to kids over 8 years old, as well as for the younger. Getting older kids to play at the park while the grown ups chat is hard work. Flying fox, and water activities would help. A climbing frame similar to the one at Tomato Lake Reserve is popular with our kids. Also a feature like a ship at Heathcote Reserve. Some kind of assault course where 2 people could race might prove popular. The roundabout you don't see much at parks anymore, maybe safety risk? But they were great fun spinning several people round at one time. At Garvey Park they have those spinners for one person which means kids have to queue (or in our case nag us) to go on. Whereas before you could have a roundabout to seat about 5 people.
