Parks play an integral role in our communities. Almost everyone has some fond memory of a park they used to frequent, or still do.
But if you want to design a park that your community members will visit and love, you have to keep a few essential tips in mind:
Add a Variety of Amenities
Amenities will enrich the amount of value your community members derive from your park. For instance, you can add some of the best street furniture options, including durable benches and picnic tables to provide your community members with a safe place to sit, rest, chat or eat. On the other hand, adding park shelters will allow them to host celebrations and enjoy your park even in undesirable weather conditions. Adding drinking fountains will encourage more people to come to your park for exercise.
Incorporate Appropriate Lighting
Lighting is a fundamental aspect of any park, especially if you want to provide your community members with added safety and accessibility. Through adding adequate lighting options to your green open spaces, you will be able to encourage community members to visit your park at all times, and not just during the day. If they want to head down to the park at night for a barbeque or a soccer game, they’ll be able to do it if they know your park has working light poles. All in all, having adequate lighting will make your park a lot safer by deterring suspicious behaviour and providing community members with high visibility. It will also allow your community members to get more out of your public space.
Encourage Proper Waste Disposal
None of your community members will want to visit a park that looks like a dump. For this reason, it’s important to encourage proper waste disposal from the moment you start designing your park. Make sure you place an adequate amount of rubbish bins throughout your park, which are easy for people to identify and access. Keep in mind that a lot of people choose to litter due to sheer laziness. Wheelie bin shelters are also worth investing in, as these will help to deter bin raiders and keep rubbish contained in your bins during extreme weather conditions.
Compliment the Natural Landscape
Parks are a place where people come to relax and appreciate the beauty of green, open spaces. In fact, parks provide community members with an escape from their heavily urbanised living environments. It’s important to keep this in mind when it comes to designing your park.
First and foremost, your park should provide as a place for community members to connect with nature and enjoy all the benefits there are to being outdoors. In order to achieve this, you need to make sure that your park’s design is based around complimenting the natural landscape; not overriding it with more urban structures, amenities and street furniture. When it comes to choosing street furniture for your park, it’s a good idea to choose furniture made out of organic materials such as wood. Wooden furniture will soften the look of your park and compliment the greenery that already exists.
