subject: Street Furniture - Brightening Up The Street [print this page] Street Furniture - Brightening Up The Street
I work for a small local authority; have done for the last six years, and I was recently given a modest budget to brighten up' a fairly derelict corner of the little town where I work. It was a great assignment and I had a year to complete it.
The area was an old car park about 100 metres square, that was rarely used, the tarmac was in a terrible state and was covered in pot holes. The first thing I did was have a public garden built in the corner; we had local volunteers to help with the manual work and we planted loads of flowers and creepers and built a large pond with seats all the way round it.
It was a great start and the locals were really enjoying and utilising the area. We did a survey about 3 months into the project, showing the public our ideas and asking for their input and we received some great feedback. Most of the feedback asked for one thing - street furniture - they all wanted somewhere to park their bums when the grass was wet!
We sourced some fantastic street furniture from a local company - benches, bins, picnic tables and bike shelters. It brought the whole area to life; bright colours, good strong products that nestled into the environment; superb. Now we have a lot of locals going down to the gardens for their lunch break and our volunteers keep the plants in great shape.
The project has added an extra dimension to our town, and the street furniture that we have incorporated has created a very durable and sociable space. We plan to install more benches in the coming months and to have a monthly function there - plays, dance and singing. This year we are even going to put the town Christmas tree there.
Conclusion
If there is an area in your town that is going to waste and can be turned into a community focal point, get on to the council and get it done. There is nothing worse than a squalid area of wasteland in a town. You'll be amazed by the community spirit that you will raise if you get the go ahead.
