The condition of a field in Mount Richon which looks more like a desert than a neighbourhood park has forced residents to travel to parks outside of the area to allow their children and dogs to play safely.
Dry as clay in summer and mossy and muddy in winter, Tredale Field Park is scheduled for a $100,000 upgrade but resident Tiffoni Maile said the park should be shut until the upgrades were finished.
Ms Maile said her experiences in the past 18 months at the park had been less than favourable.
“We have two small dogs who need regular exercise so living two houses away from the park should be a blessing, but it has caused nothing but disappointment,” she said.
“Our dog was attacked by a dog that would escape through a visibly broken fence backing onto the park,which had previously been reported to the city’s rangers team.
“The grass is slowly dying and my dogs were coming home from the park vomiting yellow bile, which I was later informed at a community meeting was caused by the city staff spraying to kill off the remaining grass.”
Ms Maile said she was forced to go to other parks such as Robot Park in Piara Waters and Shipwreck Park in Hilbert.
Mayor Henry Zelones said the city had allocated $100,000 for the 2018/19 upgrades and concept plans were currently underway.
“At this early stage in the concept planning the city is looking at incorporating pedestrian footpaths for improved connectivity, a small irrigated turf area for informal kick-about activities and additional play equipment to increase the types of play available and appeal to a broader age group of children,” he said.
“The draft design provides for an irrigated turf area of approximately 250 square metres. However, this may be subject to change during the development of the concept plan.”
Tredale Field Park was last upgraded in 2014 with the removal and disposal of the old playground and replacement with newer equipment.
The current upgrades are likely to start in March next year.
