Recently The Town of Victoria Park has been focused on activation and with an enabling attitude has facilitated community groups, encouraging them to implement several initiatives that will bring people out and about for a range of fun and engaging activities.
Mayor Trevor Vaughan said the program of activities was assisting the Town in delivering its mission of ‘vibrant lifestyle’.
“We have adopted an Albany Highway Activation (AHA!) Strategy to help raise the bar on fostering vibrancy and allowing people to be more involved in the community in a safe and enjoyable setting.
“The aim is to create a vibrant place day and night, which encourages the community to be connected socially and physically.”
Activities began in July last year with the installation of two people counters and followed with the installation of two parklets, Chinese New Year activation, two pop-up French cinema evenings and the commissioning of an urban artwork.
Parklets are pop-up parks installed on a temporary basis, where people can take a moment to unwind and watch the world go by.
The parklets currently sit outside coffee houses Cafe Gelato and Antz inya Pantz, but will move around and continue to provide a place for buskers, artists and community members to meet and relax.
Pop-up lunches have also become popular in recent months with local eatery J Bento hosting fortnightly alfresco dining and entertainment, while weekly Hawkers Markets are attracting around 1000 people looking for food and culture on a Friday night.
Another initiative of the town has been to support free WiFi on a 3.5 kilometre stretch of Albany Highway so residents, businesses and visitors can access the internet from anywhere along the strip.
This means people can get out onto the street and hold virtual business meetings, grab a coffee or sit in a park and browse the web on any mobile or desktop device along what is believed to be the longest continuous point-to-point stretch of free public WiFi in Australia.
“The Town has been very progressive and insightful in advancing technology to meet the needs of its community in making it easier for everyone to get online, stay in contact and access information when they’re out and about,” said Mayor Vaughan.
“This is linked to our new mobile website www.lifeinthepark.com.au with features including ‘Near Me’ which directs you to a variety of nearby outlets, a parking map and an events listing page.
“Plus there’s a social media wall that pulls all of the Town’s social media posts to one location.
“If you use the hashtag #lifeinthepark your message appears in the newsfeed and you can stay across all things Vic Park.”
