Playground program

The playground program is part of the city's strategy and its goal is a versatile, safe, easily accessible and sufficiently large network of playgrounds with available resources. Riihimäki's playground program serves as a support for decisions about playgrounds and as baseline data for evaluating child effects, which is part of Unicef's Child-Friendly Municipality development work.

The program includes playgrounds located in parks and public areas, of which there will be a total of 2022 in 41. During the program period 2022−2030, it is planned to fundamentally improve 25 playgrounds, build 2−4 playgrounds, and remove three playgrounds. Yards of schools and kindergartens were not included in this review.

The goal of the playground program is to examine the situation of playgrounds both from the point of view of things to be taken into account in planning, as well as in terms of the need for construction, basic improvement and renovation, as well as from an economic and social point of view. In addition, the goal is to outline the existing playground network and examine future playground needs.

The initial data for the program was a user survey (14.6.−2.7.2021), to which 356 responses were received. The most used playground in Riihimäki is the Jukka Jalonen park playground, the second most used is the Itsenäisyydenpuisto playground, followed by the Pohjankorvenpuisto and Messpuisto playgrounds. The most used playgrounds also turned out to be the most liked playgrounds. From the responses to the survey, it can be concluded that the possibility of versatile play, activities and recreation for people of different ages appeals to playground users and that the playground is a whole, the comfortability of which is affected not only by the playground equipment itself, but also by the comfortability of the playground and the surrounding area.

The playgrounds of Vainionpuisto, Ilomäentie loop and Tellervonpuisto are proposed for removal. With regard to these playgrounds, there is either overlap in the affected areas, or the use of the playground is low and due to the location, it is not considered a public playground.

A new playground will be built in the fall of 2022 in Piikinmäenpuisto, and the Kanervapuisto playground in Huhtimonmäki is planned. Other possible playgrounds are coming to Jokikylä, Herajoki center area and garrison area. The construction of new playgrounds depends, among other things, on the progress of the planning process and the development of the areas.

With the construction of new playgrounds and the basic improvement of existing playgrounds, some of the playgrounds are intended to be targeted to a certain age group. The purpose of targeting is to profile and theme playgrounds, to diversify the service offering and, among other things, to take better account of user groups that received less attention in the past. Accessibility and accessibility are also taken into account: In terms of playgrounds, the purpose is to enable everyone to participate equally in outdoor activities, exercise and play.

In connection with the basic improvement or construction of playgrounds, the aim is to take into account the consequences of climate change and sustainable environmental construction. It should be noted that the additional construction of the urban structure will affect the playground network, playground services and their maintenance. With a higher population density, the number of users of playgrounds will increase, as a result of which the need for renovation and repair of the most popular playgrounds, as well as the basic improvement cycle, will probably accelerate.

Riihimäki's first playground program 2022–2030 was approved as a guideline by the Technical Committee on April 12.4.2022, XNUMX. The technical board decides on the renovations of the individual playgrounds presented in the program and the construction of new ones every year as part of the work program of municipal engineering investments.