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What do people say? “Make the scary path to the pyramid [Will Thorne Pavilion] nicer.” Mobalaj at Youth Zone youth club at the Beckton Globe.
“We are plagued with youths aged 8 -18 who ride their noisy little quad bikes, motorbikes and even modified scooters round the streets and along footpaths.” Helen McCarthy via email
The ‘Coke Path’ was identified as an open space for young people by a girl at a youth club nearby. It is an important connection between many well-used public facilities and different neighbourhoods, but is also a social and meeting place in its own right. It was criticised for its poor visibility and many hiding spaces. The two parallel paths (one with a hard surfacing, the other a track) connect at many places, adding to the quality of the path as a place to be rather than a place to move through, as a place for discovery and play; but it has many hiding spaces and gives poor surveillance. One other girl at the youth club agreed to Mobalaj’s criticism and suggested to cut back the bushes and to maybe introduce fencing. The ‘pyramid’ [Will Thorne Pavilion], which currently lies derelict, was repeatedly mentioned by young people as an amenity that should be invested in. Persons we met on site complained about the path being covered in dirt and mud from the football pitches. We have also heard complaints related to reckless driving of motorbikes, which seems to happen in the nearby park though rather than on the path itself.
Design objectives We have identified the following design objectives for the ‘Coke Path’:
City Farm.
Football pitch and grazing horses.
Pond next to the path.
Open spaces that are not parks (with an emphasis on youth) muf architecture/art April 2004
Part 2
page B26