I WRITE in response to Joel
Johnson’s letter (Central, May 7).
It is great to get a response from council as when I wrote the same letter to
three councillors and the Lord Mayor’s office over preceding weeks, I received
no response. Unfortunately, my original point – that there
are no fenced, maintained playgrounds in Redfern – has been
overlooked.
Joel mentions the
seven playgrounds within 500m of Redfern
Park but he doesn’t clarify that only
one is in Redfern (as opposed to East Redfern).
It is great to hear that Sorry Hills has eight playgrounds but what about
Redfern? Parks in the City of Sydney
area are unevenly dispersed and Redfern has a dramatic undersupply.
In regards to the maintenance program Joel
details, the photo shoot for the “Mums have their say” story
(Central, May 7) was in the playground on Wyndham Street (the Daniel Dawson
Reserve). It captured broken glass on the bare dirt under play equipment, and
scattered throughout the grassed areas. It was still there a week later. Could Joel explain this?
Could Joel also
explain what the findings under council’s “ongoing program of auditing
small parks” were when they reviewed the Daniel Dawson Reserve?
Furthermore, I would be very grateful if Joel could highlight where the 87 playgrounds are – the City of
Sydney website lists only 63 playgrounds and the Redfern One Stop Shop was unable to clarify where the remaining 24
are located. Could Joel also outline
where the six playground upgrades will take place? Are there any plans for more
playgrounds in Redfern?
I agree that Redfern needs ovals too, and as we already have
four within 600m, I simply stated that this area needs fenced, maintained
children’s playgrounds – not more ovals.
– NICOLA CUNNINGHAM, Redfern
Source: Central of 21 May2008.
Link to earlier Article: Mums have their Say – Redfern mothers: our kids aren’t safe in playgrounds