Published on Friday, 8 March 2019 at 3:45:01 PM
Visitors to Jack Marks Reserve have new places to sit with the creation of bespoke seating suggested through last year’s community budget submissions.
“Local resident Josh O’Keefe saw a need for well designed seating with much more capacity to cater for many people who gather regularly in the park. Josh put this idea forward as a community budget submission in early 2018 on behalf of the dog loving community who you see every day enjoying Jack Marks Park,” said Mayor Emma Cole.
“We welcomed the idea and saw the benefits immediately. This is a highly popular park, with a strong community who have gotten to know each other through regular visits, often with their gorgeous dogs in tow. The form of the seating not only looks great, but it really contributes to bringing people together. It’s a friendly and sociable place to be, and the seating is very comfy.”
City staff worked with community members and a contractor to come up with a U and S shaped seating design for the two seating areas in the park. The seats are built with some recycled materials from the City’s works depot, including old bricks and jarrah seating boards and backs.
Construction of the seats started on Monday 14 January. The seats were installed and turf re-established around the seating area. They have just opened over the Labour Day weekend for all park users to enjoy.
"The new seating is such a great improvement to the facility and the dog park users have been abuzz with excitement to finally be able to relax and connect on these custom made seats,” said Josh O’Keefe.
“As a Vincent resident, I am given so many opportunities to connect with the place that I live through community hubs such as the dog park. If by assisting with this project I have been able to pass on that opportunity to another person or family, then I am happy,” he said.
“It is a great example of how our community can help us with ideas to include in our budget planning process. Our latest call out ended last week and we received 55 submissions from Vincent community members. This community budget project shows that even simple ideas like seating can add so much to the atmosphere and identity of our neighbourhoods,” said Mayor Cole.
Other successful budget submissions have included the Give Way Park on Scarborough Beach Road, the creation of Hyde Street Reserve and the recently completed perimeter pathway around Less Lilleyman Reserve.
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