Visiting one of Glenorchy City Council’s playgrounds recently gave me reason to reflect on the many people who work hard behind the scenes to ensure our community has access to clean, safe and accessible recreation areas.
As I watched the many families who had arrived with lunches, drinks, soccer balls and flying discs in tow, all set for a solid couple of hours of child-focused entertainment, it struck me just how much these facilities – and they way they are presented and maintained – matter to our community.
And yes, while the initial investment we have outlaid, in partnership with the Federal Government in many cases, to refurbish our parks, playspaces and recreation areas, is important, so too is the ongoing – and never-ending – task of keeping these areas useful and accessible.
The fact is, if it wasn’t for our hardworking and dedicated staff, as well as the contractors we employ in some instances, who service these facilities every single day, then I strongly suspect they would diminish quickly from popular and well-used recreation hubs to deserted and neglected spaces.
It’s a simple formula: keep areas tidy and functional, and people will readily seek them out as places they want to visit and enjoy.
But it doesn’t happen by magic. Like any council, we rely on many people to ensure that bins are emptied before they start overflowing, that the toilets are clean, functional and any vandalism is cleaned up and repaired, that relevant signage and information is legible and maintained, and that playspaces themselves are in good order and safe. These same people are also busy before each weekend, mowing and maintaining our sportsgrounds, even marking the white lines on the grounds so games can get underway.
The people who do this work probably aren’t celebrated enough for what their effort provides for the rest of us to enjoy, but they are undoubtedly high-vis heroes who deserve a big vote of thanks.
Generally, people tend to only notice or remark on things when their expectations are not met. For example, people will, rightly, complain about an area being littered or untidy, but will just go about their normal activity if the same area is litter free and clean. The very fact that so many people were out and about on the day I visited, kids laughing as they swarmed over the play equipment, half-eaten sausage in bread in one hand, and the state of the area wasn’t being commented on speaks volumes as to how well it was maintained.
I have always been someone who strongly believes if you want people to use a space, then it has to be welcoming. For it to be welcoming, fundamentally, it has to be clean. No-one wants to use a space that is full of litter, graffiti and damaged infrastructure. The better kept it is, the more people will use it, and the community as a whole benefits from areas that support active, healthy and connected lifestyles.
Council is continuing to invest in additional maintenance and cleaning services to put even more high-vis heroes into our public areas to keep our city clean and welcoming.
Next time you see one of our staff or contractors working to pick up litter or keep an area tidy, give them a thumbs up and acknowledge the work they do – because it is benefiting all of us, every single day.