King William Reserve

King William Street, Fitzroy
Melways 2C, A9

King William Reserve is a small reserve just west of Brunswick Street in Fitzroy.

Features and facilities

Playground
BBQ
1/2 Basketball Court
Drinking fountain
Seating
On-street parking

Community meeting

Local community members are invited to a public meeting to discuss a proposed upgrade of this reserve. The meeting will be held at this reserve on Wednesday 21 March 2012, from 6pm–7pm.

As you may recall, Council sought community feedback on a proposed upgrade of the reserve late last year. Some community members supported the proposed upgrade while other community members were strongly opposed to the changes.

This meeting provides an opportunity for community members to discuss the feedback with their Ward Councillors and Council officers and to explore possible options. We hope as many community members as possible are able to attend this meeting.

For more information, contact Joanna Bush, Coordinator – Open Space and Projects, on 9205 5794 or at Joanna.Bush@yarracity.vic.gov.au

Upgrade proposed in late 2011

In late 2011, Council sought feedback on a proposed concept plan for the expansion of King William Reserve. The closing date for submissions was 9 December 2011.

The proposal was to expand the park into the adjacent laneway, into the footpath and roadside area on King William Street, and the asphalt area behind the substation.

The concept included the following elements:

A raingarden to be installed on an extended kerb at the King William Street boundary of the park to create a buffer from the road. A widened footpath area would provide an entry to the park, with a seat positioned to capture the northern sun. The raingarden would include two native trees and native shrubs and would be constructed to capture and treat rainwater runoff from the road.
The laneway bordering the park would be closed to vehicles. Planting would be interspersed amongst the existing bluestones along the western edge of the laneway. The proposed native plant species is Dianella ‘Cassa Blue’, which grows to a height of 500mm and features blue foliage and flowers. A section of the laneway bluestone would be removed to create a pedestrian pathway edged with a bluestone spoon drain to ensure good drainage from the site.
The grassed area at the street entry to the park would be retained and improved. A park seat would be installed along the eastern boundary. The existing drinking fountain would be repositioned close to the bluestone drain.
As the park would be blocked off from passing cars, Council is proposing to remove the existing playground fence and expand the mulched area to include a new piece of play equipment for young children (a ‘Spinner’). The boundary of the play area would consist of a coloured concrete edge strip which would act as a seat. Another concrete seat is proposed at the northern edge of the park. Two deciduous trees would be planted to provide shade during summer.
An outdoor Ping Pong table is proposed to be installed in the area behind the substation to activate this under used corner. Painted line work and coloured concrete edging would cross the asphalt and travel up the surrounding walls. Some of the existing asphalt would be removed and replaced with a lawn area. On the southern wall, a steel panel with a mirrored stainless steel insert would be attached to the existing corrugated iron fence, with the mirror reflecting light, colour and activity into the space and visually extending the grassed area. Garden beds either side would provide opportunities to plant climbing plants to eventually soften this wall.

A copy of the proposed park upgrade site plan is below.

Proposed upgrade plan - King William Reserve

Location

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Further information regarding park maintenance
Jason Hocking
Coordinator - Open Space
9489 4588
Jason.Hocking@yarracity.vic.gov.au