Council is seeking your feedback on recreation and open space in Willoughby City.
Information received as part of this on-line discussion will be used to directly inform Council’s Recreation Plan. Currently in development, the Recreation Plan will address a broad range of issues relating mostly to Council managed recreational facilities and open space.
Willoughby City Council is committed to supporting healthy lifestyles, sustainable environments and community well-being. To achieve this we must appropriately plan for and manage our infrastructure and natural environments. Informed future planning helps us to achieve sustainable facilities that are reflective of community need.
Council already supports a wide range of recreational opportunities. Council also manages a variety of open space. Examples of open space include parkland, natural areas, foreshore areas, sports grounds and cycling tracks. Willoughby has more than 150 open space areas distributed throughout the City.
What are the issues?
Council’s priority is to support family friendly, easily accessible recreational opportunities appropriate to a diverse community. As the population of Willoughby is expected to increase the use of open space and recreation facilities is also expected to rise. The challenge for Council is to identify opportunities to support these increased levels of demand while not undermining the quality of the resource.
In addition, the diversity of needs within our community means that competing priorities will sometimes arise. Pedestrians and cyclists may have competing needs. Young people may have different recreational needs to older people. People with limited mobility or other disabilities may experience barriers to access. In this instance the challenge is to ensure equity of access across the board.
Finally, some resources are diminished or not entirely comprehensive. Bicycle links, for example, are improving however the overall cycleway network has limitations. Determining which resources have priority for improvement is a difficult process. Resources are also competing for access to a finite pool of funds.