New fencing to improve safety of Sandhurst Street Park

The popular Sandhurst Street Park in Goondiwindi will soon be fully fenced to provide a large, safe and enclosed area for families to enjoy.

Goondiwindi Regional Council will install new steel pool fencing to enclose the park in its entirety, along with several new gates for access to the park and playground.

Goondiwindi Regional Council has allocated $55,000 of the State Government’s 2020-21 COVID Works for Queensland (W4Q) program funding to the project.

Mayor of the Goondiwindi region the Honourable Cr Lawrence Springborg AM said the work will reduce the need for future maintenance and provide a safer environment for all users of the park.

“Sandhurst Street Park is a very popular park in our region and this project will ensure that families and visitors can enjoy it as safely as possible,” the Mayor said.

“The new fencing will greatly improve the park’s safety, which is a priority for all 25 Council-managed parks and gardens across the region,” Cr Springborg said. “At just Sandhurst Street Park alone, recent safety improvements include footpath upgrades, the construction of new sealed parking areas for safer access, and the installation of new CCTV cameras in the park for security.

“Replacing the old timber bollards in the park with a more durable material will not only improve safety, but will also require less ongoing maintenance in the future which will reduce Council costs. And this means ratepayer dollars can be put to other projects in the region.”

The existing timber posts at Sandhurst Street Park will be removed, with the new fencing to replace them and then continue around the northern and western sides to enclose the whole park.

The project will complement recent similar works funded by W4Q to replace old timber posts with long-lasting recycled plastic bollards at McGregor Street Park, Redmond Park and the Goondiwindi Natural Heritage and Water Park.

Cr Springborg said that external funding sources such as W4Q present a valuable opportunity for investment in the region.

“As always, public infrastructure is the priority for this Council,” Cr Springborg said. “This year, Council has committed $2 million of its Budget to maintaining and upgrading parks and gardens across the region, which includes park equipment and facility upgrades as well as town beautification.

“External grants and funding such as the COVID W4Q program mean we can stretch that Budget even further with additional opportunities for outside investment in the region.”

The project is currently underway and will take up to two weeks to complete. Council has engaged a local contractor to complete the fencing.