As part of its Play Space Plan, the council is consulting the public on draft concept plans to upgrade the facilities at Marlow Park, Woodhaugh Gardens and Mosgiel Memorial Gardens.
The council said all three areas were categorised as destination playgrounds, "large, themed playgrounds with high-quality sustainable equipment", but had become old, outdated and lacked the features of modern destination playgrounds.
According to the proposed plan, Marlow Park would receive a range of new equipment, including in-ground trampolines, a parkour course, explorative fossil sand area and carousels.
Iconic features such as the dinosaur slide and whale would be retained and refurbished.
The Otago Daily Times visited Marlow Park yesterday and asked Dunedin residents what they thought about the proposed design.
Jesse Realista said it was about time the council did something about the parks and hoped it would come to fruition.
Mary Mitchell said it was an upgrade to the current playground, but did not consider it a destination playground.
"I’ve come from these mega playgrounds and I look at this — it’s cool but still so underwhelming," she said.
"It’s not a destination playground ... this is just an upgraded playground."
Nic Stephens said the plan was a "step in the right direction" but it might be limiting for older children.
Others said the plan was good, the facilities looked safe and were pleased changes were being made.
Woodhaugh Gardens and Mosgiel Memorial Gardens also had new features in store, such as a multifunctional play tower and park-style skate facility respectively.
The council estimated, if approved, the playgrounds would be built from 2025 to 2028.
In a report in January 2022, the council said "in order to raise the quality of the facilities to an appropriate standard, an estimated total capital investment of $4 million to $6 million spread across the three destination play spaces would be required".
However, current consultation material said the costs could not be finalised until the detailed designs had been approved.
— Additional reporting Grant Miller
tim.scott@odt.co.nz , PIJF cadet reporter
