Mildura Rural City Council is about to transform Rio Vista Park into a thriving, more active outdoor community space.
Located between the Rio Vista Off Leash Dog Park and the Lock 11 lawns, plans for the park include:
- New public toilets
- Reactive public lighting
- More lighting to improve security and safety
- CCTV cameras
- New tree plantings
- Linkages to the nearby Off Leash Dog Park
Councillor for Community Development and Gender Equality Helen Healy said the suite of works planned for the park would invigorate the area, make it safer and connect it to other features along Mildura’s popular riverfront precinct.
“There are several important drivers behind this exciting project, including feedback from our community,” Cr Healy said.
“Residents have told us they often feel unsafe when using the park, particularly around the public toilet area.
“To address this, the existing 40-year-old toilet block will be demolished and a new, safer and better-positioned facility established.”
As part of this component of the works, school students will be invited to help come up with designs and artwork for the sides of the toilet block, which will help improve the aesthetics of the structure as well as provide a chance for community ownership in the precinct.
And another aesthetic feature planned for the park is a reactive coloured lighting system, which will brighten and dim, and change colours as people move through certain areas of the park.
“This is a great idea and will provide a fun experience, particularly for children, as well as adding to the atmosphere and visuals of the park,” Cr Healy said.
Ensuring people feel safe using the park is a key consideration, which will be reflected in additional lighting along walkways in the park, the installation of CCTV cameras and tidying up surrounding vegetation to open up any secluded areas in the park.
Cr Healy said the result would be a much more attractive, safer public space for the community to enjoy.
“This will become another attractive outdoor area for our community to enjoy for a broad range of activities, whether it be fitness, picnics, public events or gatherings of family and friends,” she said.
“It will also be yet another attraction along our constantly developing and popular riverfront precinct.”
The Rio Vista Park upgrades will be made possible through $268,341 from the Victorian Government’s Community Crime Prevention Program and are expected to be completed early next year.
