Demolition of Iltaruskonpuisto playground

The demolition of the playground is based on the city’s goal of concentrating playground activities and resources used for them to other nearby playgrounds. The equipment in the Iltaruskonpuisto playground is old and near the end of its useful life in terms of safety, so it is almost time to demolish it.

In the future, the park will serve as a leisure area and it will be made more pleasant with new furniture and plants in connection with the demolition of the playground. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to build a new playground, exercise or sports area etc. because of their high construction and maintenance costs.

In summer of 2024 a survey was organised to give residents a chance to share their wishes regarding the demolition of the playground and the further development of the park. You can find the report on the survey results on this page under “Downloadable files” (in Finnish).

In December of 2024, a draft plan of the Iltaruskonpuisto was drawn up and it was published on this page for the residents to review. No comments were received so the plan was finalized based on the draft plan.

The final plan is available on this page under “downloadable files” (in Finnish)
 

You can find the city’s playground programme on the espoo.fi website through this link (in Finnish). 

Espoo’s public playgrounds and residents’ parks form a network of nearly 200 playgrounds, and their services are steered with the help of the programme. During the preparation of the programme, the city examined this network and determined the needs for new playgrounds and those to be maintained, renovated or demolished during the 10-year programme period. This was done, among other things, by examining demographic forecasts, the city’s land use plans, and the density and repair needs of the existing playgrounds. The aim is to ensure a diverse network of playgrounds that serve all Espoo residents equally. 

New playgrounds have been established and existing playgrounds have been renovated and maintained in areas where they have been deemed necessary, for example due to the growing number of residents or the long distance to other playgrounds. The most common reason for demolishing a playground is its closeness to an existing or a completely new playground as well as the age and poor condition of playground equipment, which would require extensive repairs and resources. The city aims to concentrate playground services to those playgrounds that offer better facilities than nearby playgrounds to be demolished.