However, a new playground has not yet been ruled out.
Councillors will be considering whether to upgrade existing play spaces or create a brand new playground at an annual plan meeting early next week.
Money will need to be found for the upgrades, as the current 10-year plan only includes funds for minor renewals and upgrades.
Refreshing the existing parks would require an estimated capital investment of $4million to $6million.
A report will be tendered at next week’s meeting to help councillors with their decision.
It identified common features of destination playgrounds which included large gathering spaces, picnic and BBQ facilities, toilets, shade areas, drinking fountains and a variety of park furniture.
Using these criteria, it identified three Dunedin playgrounds that already have a variety of these features — Marlow Park, Woodhaugh Gardens and Mosgiel Memorial Gardens.
Two of the options that will be presented to councillors involve upgrading either one or all three of the existing playgrounds with new play equipment and other infrastructure.
The third option, which would likely be more expensive and is not the recommended option, would be to build a new playground.
Upgrading all three playgrounds was the only option with no disadvantages identified by council staff.
Public consultation will follow the councillors’ decision on which option it would like to move forward with.
