Alice's Playspace

Alice's Playspace is beautiful. Set in a long, narrow strip between the oval and Main Road East, the playground design makes clever use of the space. The broad brushstrokes show a mountain at one end, with a gradual transition to the dry western plains. A dry creek bed meanders through and connects the two ends with easy grace. The play elements are placed around existing mature trees giving the impression that this playground was always meant to be there. New tree plantings complement the design and will provide shade in the future.

At the western end are the pieces that might appeal to younger kids: swings, spring riders, see-saw, a water pump that pumps water out a frog's mouth, a carousel with access for wheelchairs and prams, squeaky tires and a couple of other musical/tonal elements. The sonic bollard is fascinating - it's a short metal bollard with a bobble top that moves and 'bongs' the edges from the inside. Little bumps spiral their way around the outside making it attractive to touch, look at and play with. There's also a trampoline with walkways criss-crossing through it so an adult can stay within an arm's length.

Several little bridges cross the dry creek bed as you move east. In fact the creek is so long you'll have to hop on the wooden boat and navigate your way along it! You can peer through the telescope and talk through the talking tubes to ensure a safe crossing. We like the way this imaginative play piece sits in the middle of the more active elements.

Towards the 'mountain' are more swings, two lots of wavy slides, spinning egg cups, a pyramid of space balls and of course the flying fox. A wide ramp allows wheelchair access to the flying fox from behind the mountain. The mountain itself is made of rubber turf with a couple of faces covered with 'rocks' to scramble or bound up and down... And up and down and up and down again and again and again!

The whole playground is accessible to everyone, there's plenty of space and plenty of places to rest with chairs and platform benches dotted all through the park.

The playspace is fenced from the street, but not fully enclosed yet. It will be very soon. Hopefully any escapees will head in the direction of the oval rather than the road.

Toilets are around the back of the neighbouring community house. One word of caution: be careful not to lock the doors too hard. They are very hard to unlock again as the locking mechanism seemed very tight and the knob was hard to grip.

Overall, this is another triumph by the Touched By Olivia Foundation and their trusty partners Leighton Contractors. Round of applause goes to sponsors the Commonwealth Bank and especially to the team at Brimbank City Council for creating such a stunning playspace. I imagine this spot will become a wonderful community hub with lots of parties and groups gathering to play.

The final word goes to a mum I overheard: "Did you see the flying fox? We'll be here everyday over summer!"