Knights Stream Park

Knights Stream Park in Halswell packs three distinct destinations into one site: a medium sized neighbourhood playground, a purpose built cycle skills circuit, and a skate park next door, all serving a corner of southwest Christchurch that has grown fast since the subdivisions around Richmond Avenue and Halswell Junction Road went in.

Equipment

The playground itself includes a tunnel, slides, monkey bars, a rope bridge swing, mini trampolines and spring rockers, plus a half basketball court, all set out across a medium sized site with seating for parents. Next to it, a concrete scooter track and a broad network of mini streets, complete with stop and give way signs at every intersection, let kids practice real road skills such as giving way before they ever ride on an actual street, a layout modelled on the existing bike park at Westburn Park in Burnside. A dedicated skate park sits alongside, built for beginner to intermediate riders.

History and Cultural

Christchurch City Council approved the skate park at Knights Stream Sports Park in July 2016, built for beginner to intermediate riders and designed to sit alongside the existing playground rather than apart from it, part of a skateboarding strategy the council had held since 2004.

Practical Info

A large car park sits right off Richmond Avenue, with further street parking available on Halswell Junction Road, and a sheltered picnic table gives families somewhere to sit while kids work through the circuit. Cyclists can reach the park via the Little River Link cycleway alongside the motorway, making it a genuine stop on a longer ride rather than only a destination in its own right.