• SA/NT

SA/NT Employing Technology to Understand Recreation Usage WEBINAR RECAP

  • October 30, 2024

PLA SA/NT are thrilled to have hosted a webinar this week in collaboration with the team at City of Darwin. The webinar explored ways of using different technologies to address specific usage questions you may have at your recreation sites, and how usage data can assist decision making for future planning and activation.

Attendees heard how City of Darwin is trialling the use of different digital counting solutions, and analysis of the data received, to answer specific usage questions at various active recreation sites across the municipality. Rather than focusing on a whole park approach to data collection, this webinar explored examples and ideas to suit varied situations and budget limitations.

A big thank you must go out to PLA SA/NT Region Councillor, Clare Black, for the coordination of the event, along with her fellow presenters Keith and Benazir for their time and expertise. Whilst the webinar was recorded, we are unable to share it publicly. You can find more information, including a brief recap of the event below. 

Agenda 

  1. City of Darwin Overview 
  2. Recreation challenges 
    – Regular requests for new/upgraded play spaces 
    – Budget constraints 
    – Lack of understanding on usage 
    – Limited evidence to guide decisions making 
  3. Our smart city journey 
    – Play Space Strategy had a key priority to “maximise use” and “use technology and data to inform decisions” 
    – Smart City Plan 2030 “by 2030, Darwin is to be known globally as a smart city” 
  4. Using technology 
    – People counters (counts people in a space) 
    – Public Wi-Fi (detects nearby devices to gauge presence in area) 
    – CCTV (can track movement and count people) 
    – Sensors (vibration – detects movement or interaction in specific spots e.g. seats, play equipment) 
  5. How data works 
    – Insights for improved service and program delivery 
    – Data to create a liveable city for Darwin’s current residents and future generations 
  6. Three case studies (see below) 
  7. Key takeaways
    – Understand what the data is going to give you before deciding on a technology and before reporting insights.  Communication between asset managers and technology experts is key.
    – Always cross check the data quality with ‘real world’ information such as manual staff counts or visual check of camera recording.
    – Using new data counting solutions is a process of continuing to refine the technology selected to suit different requirements and increase accuracy of data received.
Casey Study 1 - Malak Obstacle Course

Used a fixed smart pole people counter to identify usage trends. Captured data on most popular time, most popular day, whether used as intended (i.e. use of full course) and who used by (children or young people/teens etc.) amongst other data. Also tracked level of use over time (i.e. did use drop after initial opening?)  

Finding = course well utilised, but not being fully completed, being used mainly by children as a playground

Outcome = consider if site needs further activation/programming for target age group

Case Study 2 - Wanguri Exercise Station

Used a moveable counting solution to specifically understand if site is being used by anyone in a wheelchair (key design outcome). Captured data on total number of people, use of accessibility devices, number of bikes present, count of users on access path, most popular time, most popular day, school vs non-school hours usage etc.

Finding = Site mainly used by adults. No wheelchair usage over 4 week period.

Outcome = Improve signage and promotion of wheelchair access. Example insight = only 30% use path to access equipment – is it in the right spot? Is the treatment correct? Learnings for future infrastructure projects. 

Case Study 3 - Casuarina Aquatic Centre

Used a people counter to understand exactly how many people are in the facility at once. Incorporated data capture into a live dashboard that can display current occupancy rate, hourly usage counts, entries/exists etc. 

Outcome = determine site capacity, informs staff ratios, ability to share busiest times with public/users etc. 

Thank You to Our Speakers

Clare Black – Coordinator Recreation & Leisure, City of Darwin and PLA SA/NT Regional Councillor

Clare has over 20 years experience in Recreation and Community Development roles within Local Government.  In her current role Clare is responsible for maximising community access and usage of City of Darwin’s recreation and open space assets and encouraging healthy lifestyle behaviours through the development and implementation of policy and programs.

Keith Whannell – Manager Digital Innovation, City of Darwin

With over 25 years of expertise in the ICT industry, Keith is an experienced Manager of Digital Innovation, driving Smart City initiatives and delivering digital solutions. Their strong technical background and leadership have advanced City of Darwin’s digital capabilities through innovative infrastructure, data integration, and stakeholder collaboration.

Benazir Vishnu Mohan – Data Analyst, City of Darwin

Benazir is an experienced Data Analyst with a postgraduate degree in Data Science and over 10 years of experience in the data industry. Currently working with the City of Darwin, she specialises in data analysis and turning data into actionable insights, which helps informed decision making and supports the Council’s service delivery.

This event was proudly brought to you in partnership with