I was fortunate to spend three days in Penguin, Tasmania over Christmas.
At the west of the town is Johnson’s Beach. I was particularly interested in the layout of the beach area in the context of ongoing discussions in my home town, Braidwood, about how to create play spaces within the town’s heritage area.
There is a skate park at Johnson’s Beach.
I liked the clarity of the code of conduct there:
and the guidelines:
The signs and the space were very well kept and exemplified the ‘RESPECT’ invitation of the signage.
Around the corner from the skate park are some exercise machines (Fit for Parks). They have a beautiful outlook to the west.
The machines are well maintained, have very clear instructions for use and include a QR code for each station that links to a video for further information.
When you have finished the work out or the skate and scooter manoeuvres, there is a place to relax and enjoy the view.
I thought the facilities at Johnson’s Beach were exemplary. Their co-location made it possible to have an inter-generational space. We were there during the school term and saw a small number of young people use the skate park (on scooters). We did see people using the exercise stations and I saw two people use their smart phones to check out the exercises.
The area was very clean and I had a sense that there was a shared responsibility for its upkeep and appearance.
I do think that examples like this can support the conversations we are having in Braidwood about creating play spaces for young people whilst acknowledging the concerns some people have about the town’s heritage.
Photo Credits
Keith Lyons (CC BY 4.0)
