An intercept survey of Parrs Park visitors was conducted in April-May 2015, in order to improve Auckland Council’s Local and Sports Parks (LSP) understanding of the experience of visitors within the park.

The survey results indicate that Parrs Park is a popular park with local residents living in West Auckland. The vast majority (85%) of visitors drive to get to the park, with the remainder walking.

The park serves as a space for visitors to play and watch sport, to walk, for children to play, as well as a space for people to exercise their dogs. When asked what one thing they liked most about the park, visitors most frequently reported liking the children’s playground, the sports fields, the open space, and the walking / running paths.

More than half of all visitors (59%) used the park at least once a week over the last 12 months, indicating that for many visitors, Parrs Park plays an important role in their day-to-day lives. The level of overall satisfaction with the park is high, with 96 per cent of visitors reporting that they are somewhat or very satisfied with the park. Most visitors (84%) also rate the park as being important to their sense of well-being. Visitors provided mixed reactions to the possibility of making the park rubbish-free (removing rubbish bins and encouraging visitors to recycle their rubbish at home), with roughly equal numbers stating that this change would have a positive compared to a negative impact on their experience. Many visitors expressed concern that other users would not take notice of such rules and therefore the amount of litter in the park would increase.

Although levels of overall satisfaction with the park are high, visitors’ responses indicate a number of possible areas for service improvement, including:

• Providing more shade and shelter options to provide protection from the sun in summer and rain in winter
• Better rubbish / waste management and enforcement of non-compliance
• Improved toilet cleaning
• Provision of more seats and tables
• Improved night-time safety / lighting within the park.

Auckland Council technical report, TR2015/018

July 2015