All Wellington City Council play areas are maintained to the NZ Standard for Playground Equipment & Surfacing 2015, and while this applied to the slide, the potential risk of further injuries has led to this decision, says Council’s Play Spaces Specialist, Matthew Beres.
“Unfortunately we’ve had reports of a few serious injuries to some very young children using the slide, and even with signage in place about the rules of use, we’ve decided this measure is the only way to ensure there are no more incidents like these.
Councillor Jill Day, Chair of the Social, Cultural and Economic committee says: “The Council unanimously agreed that a new playground is needed in Frank Kitts Park. The $6 million upgrade will begin in January, which will see an exciting refresh of the area and all new equipment appropriate for different ages and abilities, including a new slide.
“A new playground will help create wonderful memories of growing up in Wellington for children now and well into the future.
“The new slide will also be just as big and fun, but it will be a tube shape with a twist in the middle designed to reduce speed.”
The large slide is currently closed under Level 3, and will be removed by contractors on Monday 6 September weather permitting.
The Frank Kitts Park slide is one of the last of the bespoke slides, made specifically for the site and installed sometime around 1989.