Emu Inlet is getting a water play area. How will the path work for everyone?
A new water play area could make Emu Inlet a favourite stop for Belconnen families. The ACT Government has released a final design with water features, seating, shade and trees near the southern shore of Lake Ginninderra. Construction procurement is underway, although a start date has not yet been announced.
It is easy to picture why people will want to spend time there. It is also worth picturing how they will arrive and move around once they do.
Emu Inlet connects with the walking and cycling facilities around the lake. Some people will be heading to the new play area; others will be walking or riding along the foreshore. Children may move between the water play space and the path, while visitors stop to watch, rest or find somewhere to sit.
Design for staying and passing through
Neither use should be an afterthought. A welcoming play area needs comfortable space for families to gather. A useful foreshore route needs a clear line through the area, with enough room for people to move at an appropriate pace and understand where others might cross.
These are questions to consider as the final design moves towards construction: will the path be obvious to a first-time visitor? Where will people naturally stop? Can someone riding through see the places where children may enter the path? And is it easy to get there by bike and leave a bike nearby?
Pedal Power wants Canberra’s public spaces to be enjoyable destinations and easy places to reach without a car. Paying attention to how people move around Emu Inlet will help the new attraction work for everyone who uses the foreshore.
View the Emu Inlet final design. If you regularly walk or ride past the site, tell us what the project team should keep in mind as it prepares for construction.
