By Ethan Benedicto
The City of Casey’s mayor, Stefan Koomen, is confident in the municipality’s efforts to address green and open spaces, with $30.9 million dedicated to their viability.
Infrastructure Victoria (IV) recently released their ‘30-year Infrastructure Strategy’ which highlighted the need for a bigger boost in these open spaces due to rapid urban expansion.
Koomen said that “in 2024/2025, council invested $30.9 million to renew and upgrade recreation and open space infrastructure, including new and upgrades sporting facilities and playscapes”.
“Since being elected, open space has been a top priority in our work (and) we are currently reviewing our Community Vision and Budget that will help define our new council going forward.”
Casey’s Open Space Strategy recognised the increasing population of the city and its, like many growth areas in Melbourne, rapid urbanisation on the pathway to drowning out green spaces.
The strategy called for a network of trails and green corridors that would connect parks, reserves and community spaces, much like what was identified in IV’s draft.
“Council is proud to have one of the strongest open space strategies in the state,” he said.
“With accessible open spaces, parks and playgrounds being among the best in Victoria, we recognise the benefits that a quality open space network has for the health and liveability of the city’s residents.”
As mentioned in the previous article, the strategy aims to have local parks within 400 metres of all residents, with district and regional parks within one kilometre of suburban homes for easy access.
Interconnectedness was also highlighted at all levels, from local and district to regional, with details on circuit routes through neighbourhoods and larger trails as connectors between suburbs.
“The community will always be at the heart of the decisions we make,” Koomen said.
“Open space is one of the major priorities, and having councillors back is a great way of ensuring that gaps in our strategy or barriers to improving open space can be identified and addressed as a group.
“We’re focused on ensuring that the community’s voice is heard, and this will be done through our day-to-day work, talking to residents, and via our engagement of projects and investments into open space.”
