Council parks – what opportunities?

LETTER TO THE EDITOR
 
Sir – I will be supporting a long term commitment to reinvigorate local parks and playgrounds. Reinvesting Alice parks as community hubs and shared spaces was one of the issues that originally motivated me to stand as a Councillor.
 
Parks are important community spaces and I don’t want to see any sold off.
 
But I also know that we have limited resources in terms of enhancing our parks and maintaining what we have.
 
Striking a balance between maintaining what we have while upgrading selected destination parks around the town will allow the community to continue to enjoy open spaces for recreation and well equipped destination parks.
 
For many residents it’s important to have access to well-maintained parks where you can kick a footy, throw a ball or run with dogs. It’s a place where kids and families can meet up and enjoy the open space.
 
Making sure these spaces are well maintained, while upgrading targeted destination parks around town, will allow us to have the best of both worlds – top notch park equipment in strategic locations and a well maintained network of open space parks.
 
I want to see further consultation with the community around innovative uses and practices for not only destination parks but our entire park network.
 
One idea I’d like to see further discussion about is the potential for putting in more community garden space in some of our parks or even edible garden plantings.
 
I’d also like to see how council can support local communities in helping to develop and maintain their local parks.
 
 
Chansey Paech (pictured)

Alice Springs Town Councillor