Maitland Park: Town Team Movement to hold streetmaking session to create a ‘vibrant, safe, loveable’ park

A “street-making session” is planned for Maitland Park this week, with locals invited to come along and “explore new and creative ideas to shape the streets and spaces” around the green space. The event will be a “hands-on” experience hosted by non-profit social enterprise Town Team Movement (TTM), focused on supporting governments to shift towards enabling action by communities, and inspiring people to act as active citizens. Those who live around Maitland Park, or those wanting to contribute to the project are invited to the park for the planning session from 4pm to 6pm on March 12. TTM said the project would aim to make the street around the park “more vibrant, safe and loveable”. TTM director Emma Snow said the event would enable members of the community to walk around the site and pitch ideas on how to make the streets around the park a safer place. “What we’re finding through this community and the conversations we’re having is that we can help shape the design of the park itself over the long term,” she said. “We know we need to make the streets safer, especially for pickup and drop-off time — so that’s why we’re starting here.” Maitland Park is known around town for being a notoriously busy area needing significant improvements. This comes almost a year after the City of Greater Geraldton revealed planning for its Green Connect Project in Maitland Park was under way. At the end of May last year, the city launched its plan to transform the park into a multi-use, sustainable transport and education precinct powered by renewable energy — with planning estimated to take up to 24 months. The project was backed by $3.38 million in funding from round one of the Federal Government’s Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program. Last year mayor Jerry Clune said the two-year planning process would build on the community’s engagement and would continue to involve stakeholders and community. The Maitland Park Schools Precinct Transport Hub Concept Masterplan was also previously established by the city and surrounding schools to ease the increased traffic, congestion and unsafe conditions around the park during peak periods. Ms Snow said the streetmaking session this Thursday would add to the ideas and action already put forward to help improve the area and the park. “Whether you’re based around Maitland Park or just want to help make your community better — this is your chance to get involved and take action,” she said. “Come along, have some fun and connect with other local people. The design process is going to go on for a long while, but we can get started making the area around Maitland Park even better from now.”