Why not fence parks?

I am concerned about the safety of our parks on the Peninsula.

In particular, I am calling for gates on Vernon Park to prevent young children from running onto busy Ryans Road.

My mothers' group used to meet regularly at Vernon Park (on the corner of Ryans Rd and Haynes Ave, Umina).

However, we are now unable to use the park as multiple gaps in the fence allow children to run straight onto busy Ryans Rd, even under Mum's watchful supervision.

One of my own experiences highlights my concern.

Many of the mums in our group have two children and need to feed babies, making it difficult to supervise active toddlers.

One of the children kept running out of the park.

This concerned us, so I moved my car over close to the opening and used a pram and a car door in an attempt to block the gap.

This worked for quite a while, until my daughter decided to close the car door and proceeded to run in front of our parked cars, straight onto Ryans Rd.

I was heavily pregnant and therefore not as mobile as usual.

We were lucky.

There were no cars coming at the time.

Had there been, the results would have been devastating.

I cannot understand why gates are not installed at this park.

I have heard all sorts of lame excuses, such as "people will leave their children there like a play pen".

These excuses don't wash with me.

When carers of children make the effort to get out of the house and spend time with their children in a park, I believe they need to know that their children will be safe there, especially when the park is on a busy road.

It is ludicrous that parks like this on major roads remain unfenced, posing a serious risk to the most vulnerable members of our community.

To have just one fenced and gated park on the Peninsula would mean a lot to families.

Louise Miller, Umina Beach