North Shore Times (New Zealand)
97% of city’s parks uncovered
Only 29 of Auckland’s 940 council playgrounds are protected by shade sails, a council document says.
Protecting Aucklanders from the sun at playgrounds and reserves would cost Auckland Council up to $23.5 million.
The council’s Ta¯ karo – Investing in Play Discussion Document said people taking their own responsibility for protection was even cheaper.
‘‘The personal cost of sun protection is relatively low compared to the public costs of shade provision,’’ it said.
Shade sails cost about $25,000 excluding repair and maintenance meaning a cost of $23.5 million city-wide. It would cost $5000 per playground or $4.7m city-wide to provide shade in the form of trees.
On Neighbourly.co.nz, North Shore residents shared their thoughts on shade protection at playgrounds.
Lara Fleming, from Windsor Park said: ‘‘In summer we can only go to a playground before 10am without a shade cloth. The equipment gets too hot to touch after 10’’.
Beach Haven’s Johanna Bilton said shade sails were ineffective.
‘‘I’m not a fan of shade sails at playgrounds. Early in the day/ late in the day they’re not effective due to the angle of the sun,’’ she wrote.
Council’s head of project delivery John Schermbrucker said sites being considered for shade had been identified both by Auckland Council and through direct requests made by members of the community. He said estimates were being looked at for both trees and shade sails.
In the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board area alone, council was considering 18 sites for shade. Community consultation on these would be happening in October and November. Local board chairwoman Julia Parfitt said the board had made a commitment to being a ‘‘sun smart local board’’.
She said the board had set aside about $150,000 for this financial year to achieve this and had received ‘‘far better pricings’’ than $25,000 a shade sail, from a local supplier.
Parfitt said priority locations were those that were most exposed or popular.
The Kaipa¯ tiki Local Board is also a sun smart board said deputy chairman John Gillon. He said the board was investigating and prioritising where to install sails.