More Puketāpapa sports fields will shine bright at night – providing additional opportunities for local sports teams to train and play in the evening.
Puketāpapa’s largest park – Keith Hay Park – is set for lighting upgrades by mid-2027, with the $300k investment adding additional new lights installed at the Keith Hay Park number two fields.
Also, Mt Roskill’s Fearon Park will receive extra lighting coverage, with the second half of the park getting lights in 2028, to fully cover the well-used sports fields.
Puketapāpa Local Board Chair Roseanne Hay says its important public sports fields are accessible at night.
“It’s great we’re able to provide our community with public parks with lighting facilities for teams to play and train on during the autumn and winter seasons.”
“Fearon Park’s additional lights will result in more teams being able to use the fields, we’ve also recently added a new full-sized basketball court at Fearon Park, so we’re creating a nice sporting hub there,” says Roseanne.
Game, set, match and self-service lights at Three Kings
As well as sports fields lighting investment, an innovative lighting system is on offer at the tennis courts at Three Kings Reserve.
The popular courts have a self-service lighting function where users can switch on the lights for up to 90 minutes at night until 9.30pm.
This system reduces the cost of having lights on when they are not used.
Check out this video on the Three Kings courts.
Why not light up more parks in Puketāpapa?
With a number of other parks in Puketāpapa, not all parks and shared paths have lights. But why is this?
There are a number of reasons for not having lights at all parks in Puketāpapa, with a range of factors considered, which are:
- Cost: installing lights is a costly exercise, and also ensuring they are used also contributes to overall work programmes costs.
- Noise-related issues: having lights on at public places attracts people, which turn can create noise issues with parks close to housing.
- Intended park use: lighting is provided where it delivers the greatest public benefit for the intended time of use. So key walking and cycling connections, sports field training areas and community facilities may be lit, but your neighbourhood park may not
- Safety: lighting alone does not make a space safe. Light can create a false perception of safety, giving the impression that the area is suitable for public use in times of darkness when it is not. Staff also use Crime Prevision Through Environmental Design (CPTED) criteria in decision making