THREE EXPERTS TELL WHY BUILDING MODULAR PUMPTRACKS IS CHILD’S PLAY
25 Aug 2022
Designing and building bespoke playgrounds that kids and their carers love is a specialist field. Parkitect spoke to three experts in the design and assembly of playspaces to find out why they like working with Modular Pumptracks.
INSTALLATION WAS SEAMLESS FOR THIS POPULAR QUEENSLAND COMMUNITY PUMP TRACK
The team at Urban Play worked with Parkitect, LandPlan Landscape Architecture, and JMAC to deliver a custom designed Modular Pumptrack for the local Charters Towers community. The 160-metre-long pump track at Defiance Mill Park has become a popular attraction for families from around the region.
“Parkitect makes it simple”, explains Urban Play project manager Benjamin Heckenberg. “Their pre-engineered and certified modules made it easy for assembly and installation. You know exactly what you’re getting. And it’s easy to work out how to install the tracks with their self-installation manual.” 
“Parkitect even provided a special harness to help unload the trucks. This made the installation process seamless.” 
The aim of the Defiance Mill Pump Track was to “reinvigorate cycle-based activities for Charters Towers residents by providing a venue for bike, scooter, and skateboard riders to showcase their skills and gain confidence in all manner of aerial and non-aerial manoeuvres.” 
According to Charters Towers Mayor Cr Frank Beveridge, the launch of the track was a great success, “… this new facility was something that the community was waiting for”. 
GREAT PUMP TRACK DESIGN IS ‘BUILT-IN’
The team at Park-Life have designed, built, and supplied over 500 playspace projects. Based in Christchurch NZ, the company is owned by husband-and-wife team Cameron Rennie and Sally Farmer.
Cameron’s experience as a landscape architect has given him an insight into the difficulty councils had when building a community pump track ‘from scratch’.
“I saw how council projects would get bogged down trying to design and build bespoke pump tracks,” explains Cameron. “Not only were tracks a challenge to build, sometimes the track was simply not fit for purpose.”
“Modular Pumptracks are a good example where great design is built in. They really work and clients don’t need to worry about the design – it’s all done. They’re also quick to ‘get into the ground’.” 
NEW QUICK-TO-ASSEMBLE PUMP TRACK DESIGN CREATES A SAFE PLACE FOR KIDS TO PLAY
Phil Pollard, owner and founder of Bendigo-based Assemble Play (also know as iassembleit) has been involved in playspace construction for nine years now.
According to Phil, “COVID put a focus on families finding somewhere safe for kids to play outside. More and more councils are wanting to install a pump track as they see how popular they are with kids and families. But many find it hard to contract someone to help build and construct playgrounds, especially in regional areas.” 
“The new Park Edition fibreglass Modular Pumptracks are very easy to assemble. The design means the connectors, locator pins, and bolts are easy to access and adjust. With the Park Edition, it might take two people about four hours to unpack the pallets and get on with the assembly. The design makes it straightforward. Parkitect supplies a maintenance kit with spare parts – also really convenient.” 
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