Caroline Bay’s new multimillion-dollar playground is already drawing the crowds as construction nears completion.
CPlay chairman Owen Jackson said a lot of people had stopped by to admire the playground, and the feedback received from the public had been ‘‘incredible’’.
There was a feeling of excitement that the project was so close to being finished, Mr Jackson said.
Some onlookers had told organisers they had not realised what a wonderful asset the playground would be until they had seen it.
‘‘We are so excited to see the progress this month, particularly the colourful surfacing that is being installed,’’ CPlay volunteer Roselyn Fauth said.
The surfacing provided the safety New Zealand safety standards required, she said.
The colour made the area look ‘‘fun and vibrant’’, which would encourage imaginative play and connection with stories of the Caroline Bay area which had inspired the playground. Mr Jackson said he was thankful for all the donations, which were still coming in. One youngster in particular had sent in ‘‘multiple amounts’’ of pocket money to go towards the project, he said. While CPlay was fully funded there were still some ‘‘nice-to-haves’’ such as extra seating and more shade, for which they had sought funding, Mr Jackson said.
With a predicted El Nino summer, he felt more shade might make the playground more enjoyable throughout the day.
He was cautious about giving an opening date.
Children had not had to ponder on accessibility, safety and all the logistics the adults had.
‘‘All they want to do is go play.’’
With that in mind, he did not want to get their hopes up.
Mr Jackson compared it to giving children the wrong date for Santa’s arrival — ‘‘and then having to tell them the sleigh had broken down, or Rudolf was on strike.
‘‘But we do appear to be on target.’’
There would be an official blessing before the playground was opened, and the team hoped to hold a family fun day afterwards, some time in early to mid December.
