Many might not know that Council teams care for almost 1100 hectares of parklands and reserves – equivalent to almost 1500 football fields.
Have you ever wondered what it takes to keep our playgrounds, dog parks and recreation equipment in top condition? Come behind the scenes and spend a day with our Parks Infrastructure Maintenance team.
Morning routine: early starts and daily briefings
Meet Jason, Jon and Hayden, key members from Council’s Parks Infrastructure Maintenance team. Their day begins early at a Council Depot for a daily briefing and to plan out scheduled maintenance, inspections and a safety briefing.
As part of their role the team is responsible for inspecting and maintaining more than 370 playgrounds around the Sunshine Coast.
Jason is inspecting and making repairs to a playground swing at the depot workshop ready to install at a local park.
First task: Inspections and repairs
The team arrives at , popular with locals for the large grassy area, picnic shelter, playground and fenced dog-off-leash area. The team begins their inspections with the fenced dog-off-leash area – checking the gate latch and dog agility equipment for safety.
Moving on to the exercise equipment, Hayden and Jason inspect every screw and then test the equipment.
“Whilst this might look like all fun and games, testing equipment is a vital part of our safety and compliance inspections,” Hayden said.
Next stop, the barbecue and picnic shelter where Jason explains that he checks the table and bench seat timber slats to ensure they are secure and tightly bolted to the ground. He is also looking for graffiti and damage to the shelter.
“We inspect the condition of the barbecues and then the security of the locks,” Jason said.
“We spend over 5000 hours a year maintaining our playgrounds and any issues discovered are often repaired on the spot.
