Children in Seawinds had a blast on Heritage Day when a new smart park was opened in the area.
On Sunday September 24 councillors officially opened the sixth smart park in Cape Town at a cost of R7.6 million.
The project was an upgrade of a portion of an existing Recreation and Parks facility which was turned into an integrated facility that offers informal and formal recreational opportunities.
JP Smith, the City of Cape Town’s Mayco member for safety, security and social services, said the smart park provided a new take on outdoor recrea-
tion. “We are developing high quality parks in the city’s most under-served areas and opening opportunities to residents that they would have had to travel great distances before to access,” said Mr Smith. Similar parks have been built in Atlantis, Nomzamo, Delft, Khayelitsha and Gugulethu.
Mr Smith said the Seawinds smart park was developed with a focus on family recreation which includes a water play area where children can learn about the water cycle and splash around in shallow water.
There’s also an area focused on younger children’s play, a multi-purpose playground, two multi-purpose courts that can host a variety of ball games, a picnic area and covered stage, as well as outdoor exercise areas.
Because of the City’s level 5 water restrictions, the water play area works on a recycle process, where water is reused and circulates through the river stream and log channel after going through a filtration process.
The restrictions were also considered with plant selection for the park when the it was landscaped, with 120 drought-tolerant trees which will provide shade to visitors and add to the aesthetic of the park.
“We’re acutely aware of the need to be water-wise given the ongoing drought and I believe that the design of this park is a prime example of how service delivery can continue without adding pressure to the already stressed water supply,” said Mr Smith.
Eddie Andrews, the City’s Mayco member for area south, said the timing of the opening today was significant. “It is appropriate that the opening of this facility coincided with Heritage Day, because it’s meant to bring people together for shared experiences,” he said.
