KARORI PLAYGROUND SHUT FOR 'ASPIRATIONAL MAINTENANCE', NOBODY AT COUNCIL CAN DEFINE THE WORD
The slide has been wrapped in hazard tape since June. The aspiration, per WCC, is 'ongoing'.
A Karori playground has been closed since early winter for what Wellington City Council calls 'aspirational maintenance'. Three separate council staff have declined to explain the phrase on the record.
The playground, on a side street off Karori Road, has been ringed in orange mesh fencing since June. A laminated A4 sign zip-tied to the swings reads 'CLOSED FOR ASPIRATIONAL MAINTENANCE — THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE'. The patience ran out around August.
Hine Paterson, who lives two streets over, walks past it most days with her kids. "My youngest asked what aspirational means. I said it means they're thinking about it. She asked when they'd stop thinking. I didn't have an answer."
Neighbour Roy Whittaker said he'd seen one hi-vis bloke arrive in a ute on a Tuesday in July. "Stood near the seesaw for eleven minutes. Took a photo. Left. That's the only maintenance I've seen. Didn't even touch it."
A WCC spokesperson confirmed the playground was part of a 'reimagining of play assets across the western suburbs' and said a scoping document was 'in draft'. Asked when kids might use the swings again, the spokesperson said the timeline was 'aspirational by nature'.
The hazard tape was replaced last week. The swings have not moved since June, except in the southerly.
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Reader Letters
Garry (Halswell)
Back in my day, you'd see Bob from the council with a spanner by Monday and the kids back on the swings before lunch on Tuesday. What the hell is 'aspirational maintenance' anyway? New Zealanders need to stop fantasising and start fixing.
couchgremlin
Lol. Somebody watched too many TED Talks at the council.
Margaret_F
Sounds like the Gerald Memorial Garden fiasco all over again. Promised flowers, ended up with weeds. Has anyone considered that the council might just be delaying so we forget about it like usual?
Glynn_Wainui
Margaret, that garden still makes me laugh. Gerald would be so unimpressed. Maybe they should just call all their projects 'aspirational'. Keeps expectations low.
BikeTrencher
Imagine if they cared about cycling infrastructure like this. We'd have aspirational bike lanes every bloody two blocks. Poor Karori kids.
WayneT1987
I reckon 'aspirational maintenance' is code for 'we spent the budget elsewhere but still want it to sound important'. Maybe those cones needed replacing, Roy doesn't realise that's hi-vis currency.
Karori_Four_Square
As someone who works nearby, it's been an eyesore for months. I miss seeing kids play on the way to work. WCC needs to hurry it up - aspirational or not.