Premier Jay Weatherill unveils vision to transform Adelaide's parklands
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/sout ... 6752015389
ADELAIDE'S parklands will be transformed with more playgrounds, sports facilities and community events, plus improved lighting and pathways, under a $20 million State Government plan to turn the precinct from a paddock into our own Central Park.
Adelaide City Council's stranglehold over the use of the parklands will also be challenged because the government wants councils surrounding the city to have a much greater say into how the space can be best used to benefit their ratepayers.
The policy, revealed exclusively by Jay Weatherill in today's Sunday Mail, involves what the Premier calls "soft infrastructure" to make the parklands more family-friendly, safer and easier to access.
? TELL US BELOW: DO YOU WANT THE PARKLANDS OPENED UP?
It will form a central part of what Mr Weatherill calls his "vibrant city" agenda as he heads into an election year championing projects such as the Adelaide Oval upgrade, small bars legislation, increasing the CBD population and the rebirth of the River Precinct and North Tce.
It places the government on a collision course with conservative parklands lobbyists who believe the space is sacrosanct and should not be changed or at all.
But Mr Weatherill said the parklands should be opened to up to all South Australians, rather than remaining an underutilised asset which was only of benefit to those who lived in the city.
"The parklands should belong to all South Australians," he told the Sunday Mail.
"Rather than being seen as a moat around the city, the parklands should be a place everyone wants to enjoy.
"As we move to a new way of living in and along the city's edge, the parklands will become the new backyards. Revitalising the parklands will attract more people to meet family and friends,
play sport, exercise and visit playgrounds and cafes."
To make it happen the government has committed $20 million over four years using funds already available from the Planning and Development Fund, where developers contribute money when building high density projects.
The plan follows the government's Housing in the City policy, under which more people will be living in homes close to the parklands.
Planning Minister John Rau said governance structures, such as the Adelaide Park Lands Authority, had been an issue in holding back the parklands from meeting its potential.
"The first step is 'is there an appetite for a bigger vision for the parklands?' I believe there is and particularly because we are rezoning the city rim more people will live there and work there so will want more amenity right across the road," he said.
"Then we'll start talking to the community about what sort of vision do we want, for example providing good bike and walking paths, lighting and areas where people will feel attracted to and safe. Then we'll talk about specific projects.
"If we can do this within the current structures then that's great but if get to the point when they are obstructive...and getting in the way of the very things the public wants...then that will involve us having a bigger conversation about governance. At the moment I'm being positive."
Adelaide's parklands are over 750 ha, more than twice the size of New York's Central Park and four times larger than Sydney's Centennial Park Lands.
On average for every person living in the metro area there is about 80sq m of open space but for people living in council areas around the city it is much less, as low as 11sq m for people in Prospect and 8sq m in Unley.
Mr Rau said the government wanted councils surrounding the city such as Unley and Prospect to get involved with the plan and come up with ideas and stump up some money to make the parklands an asset for their communities as well.
"If the government spends say $5 million and gets a $10 million spend for the public through a partnership then that becomes a much more attractive project," he said.
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