Adelaide City Council plan for a more active city and park lands

Adelaide City Councillors have endorsed the Active City Strategy 2013 - 2023 that sets out a series of strategies to help those who live, work, study or visit the city maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle.

The strategy which aims to encourage fitness and activity, includes greater use of the Adelaide Park Lands by sport and recreation groups and clubs, relocating and expanding the City Beach volleyball area and attracting more clubs to Victoria Park.

It also envisages upgrades at the Adelaide Aquatic Centre at North Adelaide to attract an extra 230,000 visitors a year. Additions will include a new water slide, a rock-climbing wall and an enlarged gym.

Announcing the adoption of strategy, Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood explained "we all know the value of exercise, and we want to make sure that as we plan into the future, Council is providing the community with opportunities to participate in both formal and informal activities.

"Our new 10-year strategy is designed to help everyone to join in physical activity regardless of age or ability by ensuring the city is well planned and makes good use of our open spaces.

"We have seen people embrace the North Adelaide Dog Park, Bonython Park's new play space, the Park Lands Trails and many others. This strategy will expand on these successes and further strengthen Adelaide as one of the most liveable cities in the world."

"Positioning Adelaide as one of the great cycling cities of the world is a passion of mine, but this strategy is more about getting people out and about enjoying all the city has to offer, and doing that through exercise, whether that be at sporting clubs or events, cycling, walking, running or working out at one of the fitness stations.

"We really are coming into a very exciting time and over the next 10 years we will really be able to build on our reputation and show the world how fantastic Adelaide is as a destination."

Key elements of the strategy include:

• Completion of the 18 kilometres of Park Lands Trails so people will be able to walk, run or ride the whole trail or choose from the shorter southern and northern loops;
• Revitalising city squares by introducing fitness stations and other active opportunities so people can choose the way they want to be physically active and to encourage them to get out and make use of the beautiful open spaces the city has to offer;
• Exploring opportunities for a large youth activity space that would support a range of sports and activities including various forms of skating, BMX riding, parkour and three-on-three basketball;
• Working in collaboration with sporting groups and schools to improve community sports facilities in the Park Lands. 
• Establishing a sports action group that would encourage sporting events to use the sporting facilities of the city and provide centrally located venues for events such as Masters Games, University Games or SAPSASA as well as locally based sports carnivals and competitions.

The Council plan includes a youth sports centre - possibly on the Torrens River bank - for skateboarding, BMX, parkour and basketball while the plans for city squares includes the addition of playgrounds, fitness stations and/or sports courts.

Councillor Megan Hender has backed the plan, referring to her first-hand knowledge of how altering a space by creating structured opportunities for people to come together to be physically active can really benefit a neighbourhood.

Councillor Hender added "the 3-on-3 basketball court in Whitmore Square is a great example, it has encouraged both young and old out into the Square and has revitalised and changed the tone of the area, making it a space where everyone and anyone can come and participate in an activity or simply enjoy the space."

Council already partners with community groups in lots of ways including the hundreds of different teams and groups who compete and train throughout the Park Lands, some long term and some for short term projects.

Andrew Bartlett from the Adelaide Triathlon Club is currently running an eight-week autumn training program in the South Park Lands, with the help of some funding from Adelaide City Council, and welcomes the Council's commitement

Bartlett explains "without the support of the Council and the use of the Park Lands, we just wouldn't be able to offer programs like this. I am a strong supporter of getting people out, about and active in the city and a good way of doing this is to bring new and different opportunities to the community.

"The 10-year Active City Strategy will go a long way towards making it easy to help people understand and respond to the benefits of being active and healthy, especially in the Park Lands."

Public consultation and detailed planning on the Strategy is now to be conducted over the next two years before its implementation from 2015/16 to 2018/19.

4th July 2012 - ADELAIDE CITY COUNCIL INTRODUCES NEW FITNESS ACTIVITY PERMIT SYSTEM

7th November 2008 - NATIONAL HERITAGE LISTING FOR ADELAIDE PARK LANDS