De Chene Reserve, Coburg - Sportsground lighting upgrade

Project overview

Merri-bek City Council received a Public Safety Infrastructure grant from the Department of Justice in 2016.

The funding has been used to illuminate the car park adjacent to the De Chene Reserve pavilion, the access road from Urquhart Street leading to the car park, pedestrian pathway around the reserve, extending between the end of Urquhart Street and Bell Street as well as the Urquhart Street extension outside residential properties numbers 64 and 66.

Site history

De Chene Reserve is a busy sporting precinct catering for over 300 junior, female and senior soccer participants.

The reserve can be accessed by the Merri Creek Trail shared path and is highly utilised by runners, walkers, cyclists, dog walkers, families accessing the playground, people who use the outdoor exercise equipment, and also evening commuters that disembark from the public transport (bus and trams) situated along Bell Street and Nicholson Streets, who then walk through the Reserve to return home.

Consultation

In order to help understand the uses of De Chene Reserve and perceptions of the safety of the area, we asked local residents, regular precinct users and local sporting club members to complete the De Chene Reserve survey. The survey closed on 29 April 2016.

The information gathered through the survey provided the base data for evaluating the effectiveness of the car park illumination project.

Budget and timelines

• Budget: $192k for design and construction from the Department of Justice
• Timeline: Construction began May 2016 and was completed early 2017.  A formal launch and plaque unveiling took place at De Chene Reserve on Tuesday 27 June 2017.