For this brief moment in time the Johnstown Community has not only caught the attention of the Council but they have received a commitment from them in the form of a design, submitted planning application to make it happen.

We understand that Residents have until April 26th to review, comment and make observations on the current proposal before it proceeds to a Council decision.

No one doubts that we have a large local population of playground age children and no local facility within reasonable reach.

Access

Via the estate and school campus main road it doesn't require vehicles to pass through any residential street. 2 parking areas have been proposed one immediately at the playground the other across the road within the adjacent green and pedestrians would use the existing zebra crossing.

Play Equipment

Playground design has evolved and the current trend in play equipment can be seen most recently at Blackwater Park. The timber log style is robust, attractive and more resilient to vandalism. It requires far less maintenance than previous metal or plastic frames and examples that have been put to years of use can be seen at Balrath Woods, St Columbus Crescent and Trim Playgrounds. Nothing however is indestructible and all have general maintenance requirements and a finite lifespan.

Flooring

Grass lawn is broken up by paths and play area soft flooring material which both limits injury and the 'mud pools' from foot wear. The material has evolved to be less brittle in the sunlight and frosts but invariably future repairs and replacement will be necessary.

Scale

Containing many items of play and bench seating it's not a small scale proposal but it is comparable with several other playgrounds. We've included several links to others on Google Maps for you to to view what they look like in use.

Security

Easily accessible, centrally located and observable by the public with sufficient natural surveillance at night means it's a viable location. Several other playgrounds have similar locations.

One single lockable access point with a high perimeter fence is fairly typical within standard playground design. The opening hours are not known but likely to follow the habits of young children with supervising parents.

Here we show Blackwater Park and Ratoath to illustrate two fairly new but different playground styles.

A thriving playground reflects a desirable family friendly community which has a safe environment. Playgrounds should allow for positive social interactions which improve the living standard of the community. Parents, grandparents, carers, family members and friends can all meet whilst the children engage in healthy physical activity where they can have unstructured play in a safe environment.

A successfully managed playground takes young children off the road outside your home and places them in a safer environment. With today's busy roads this adds value to homes and the wider community.

It's the SAFE element that has attracted parents to Play Centres since they are protected from the ANTI-SOCIAL element that all public playgrounds are exposed to. Pay to Play Centres have however recently been in the spotlight due to rising and unaffordable insurance costs which will find its way to rising entry fees or closure.

Public playgrounds are FREE and therefore not exclusive to those who can afford to pay for private playgrounds.

The desire to have a local playground is not the issue causing a group of residents to rally around and object to the proposal. They simply don't want it on their doorstep and have valid concerns:

• Road Safety
• Traffic Congestion
• Antisocial Behaviour
• Maintenance
• Property Value
• Didn't buy the property with the knowledge of a playground.
• It'll be a 'zoo' and should be elsewhere.

Every location could have the exact same objections but to overcome a planning application these points need to be valid, specific and not easily overcome by slight design changes.

If our main concern, no matter where a playground goes, is anti-social behaviour then we need to address the issue.

Who is Anti-Social?

Often people generalise using a sweeping brush stroke statement and more frequently mean bored Teenagers getting up to mischief.

With so many hormones rushing through their blood teenagers need a distraction...... actually several proper distractions that they can dip in and out of. We should not expect them to be playing sports every night, spending time at interest group gatherings or to stay at home.

To 'hang out' as a large group is all most seem to want.

It's their form of unstructured play area which is missing. We're kidding ourselves suggesting a future youth club or community centre building is going to be a 'full stop' solution.

Teenagers Need Facilities Too

It's been suggested that since we never needed anything in our day that today's teens don't either. Unfortuantely we played on near empty streets and yet still managed to break windows with footballs, scratch cars with our bikes and run the risk of being knocked down. Our streets are much more busier and those cars and windows haven't got any cheaper to fix.

Where are the sheltered picnic tables / public park benches, the basketball hoop, the goal posts, the rollerblade or skateboard park?

Teenagers don't want toddler swings they need energy and adrenaline release together with somewhere safe, to be out of the mud, rain and wind, to have somewhere to gather, show off and chat.

What plans does our Council and Community have for providing them with an alternative venue to a children's playground?

Perhaps something to ask local election candidates?

1. Johnstown North

Eddie Fennessy has proposed that the entry to the future estate just north of the Kentstown Road and junction of Metges Road.

It might also impact on existing neighbouring homes and face the same objections and it is also considerable distance from the homes near Johnstown Village but closer to other estates also without facilities.

2. The Boyne Riverside.

Jenny McHugh has suggested placing playground facilities along a riverside path which does not impact on existing homes.

We take this up as a separate article within this edition since it a introduces a new feature.