Silly me, I saw this infrastructure on what I thought was a path in the new regional play space at Gosford and thought, shoot, this looks dangerous.
But rest easy; that isn’t a path. It’s an interpretation of a shoreline.
Here’s what I was told.
“The sandstone and concrete pictured isn’t designed as a walkway but is a decorative interpretation of the site’s original shoreline.
“Much of the land at Leagues Club Park was reclaimed last century and a design objective was to represent how it originally looked.
“The water main is essential infrastructure and must be readily available to ensure the appropriate function and use of the site.
“It is all part of the detailed and considered planning of the site, and on this occasion, function and design merge in the one location.
“We appreciate the caging makes the water main more obvious, but it is an important safety requirement and will not be changed.
“Although people can freely move around the site, the location of the water main isn’t on an intended thoroughfare, and it shouldn’t affect any of the Park’s great amenity.”
End quote.
I am reluctant to tell you where the information came from because these are award-winning words and the author should out themselves.
Until I read these words, I thought I had seen a tricky situation that could have been solved by slightly altering the course of the “decorative interpretation” of the shoreline.
Now I am aware of how wrong I was.
Obviously it is better to have function and design merge in the one location.
I mean, who hasn’t walked on a real shoreline and been confronted with a merging function and design?
By the way, to move away from the sarcasm and to provide some facts: Leagues Club Park regional play space – to give its full name – was a project led by Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation (HCCDC).
The Council gets to manage and maintain it.
The park opens this weekend, on February 27. Bring a picnic, say the organisers.
– Merilyn
