Analysing open space visitation in Paradise Point Parklands

Characterised by its diverse range of facilities and beachside location, Paradise Point Parklands is a well-known Gold Coast recreation area that’s set to receive an upgrade in the coming years.

It’s an ideal location for a range of activities, with play equipment, sheltered BBQ areas, a beach volleyball court and plenty of shaded green space spread throughout the parklands.

The proposed upgrades will improve accessibility and the standard of the park’s facilities, making it more inclusive and modernised to take advantage of its idyllic location. Ahead of these proposed improvements to its facilities, what are the current visitation trends of visitors to the park? To get these answers, let’s analyse visitation to the park in both 2022 and 2023 using People Movement Data in Planwisely.

Where are the parklands' visitors coming from?

Using mobility data, we can see where visitors generally come from to reach the parklands and then form a general understanding of its catchment area. Knowing this offers clues to who the parks visitors are, which can help guide planning and investment decisions for things like transportation infrastructure and general improvements.

The data suggests that around 20% of visitors to the parklands are Paradise Point locals (within a 15–20-minute walk), while a similar percentage come from Paradise Point’s adjoining suburbs (Hope Island, Hollywell and Coombabah) - each of which are within a 10-15-minute drive to the parklands.

Outside this immediate zone, close to 1 in 4 visitors (23.7%) come from nearby suburbs within a 5km radius – Runaway Bay, Helensvale and Biggera Waters – while 15% come from even further afield, including Upper Coomera, Oxenford, Southport, Labrador, Ashmore and Benowa. This means around 1 in 3 visitors negotiate a 15-20-minute drive (or equivalent travel) to reach the parklands.

On the weekend, these numbers are largely consistent, with a slightly larger proportion of visitors from further afield, while the proportion of visitors from Paradise Point itself drops by 2% on the weekend versus weekdays.

How long do people stay at Paradise Point Parklands?

The median length of stay for visitors to the parklands peaks between the hours of 9am to midday (36 minutes), while the 73-minute discrepancy between the 25th percentile (14 minutes) and the 75th percentile (87 minutes) is by far the largest during this period, too, compared to any other time of day. Essentially, people are far more likely to stay for long periods when they arrive in the middle of the day.

For perspective, this gap between the 25th (9 mins) and 75th (56 mins) percentiles is 40 minutes lower between 3pm-6pm (47 minutes), while the median length of stay drops by 50% to a more modest 24 minutes. Overall, however, it’s fair to say that the median length of stay is largely steady throughout the day, with the high of 36 minutes between 9am-12pm and a low of 23 minutes between 6pm-9pm during the parklands’ typical hours of use.

When do people come to the park?

Knowing when people use an asset can help manage peak usage, plan events, maintenance, future investment and more.

In the case of Paradise Point Parklands, the data says that on the weekends, people come to the park around lunchtime, with 27% arriving between the hours of 11am–1pm with another distinct peak between 5pm-6pm (9.2%).

Meanwhile, weekdays see a clear spike in visitation between 6pm-7pm (12.3%) – in fact, 4pm-6pm are the three busiest hours for weekday visitor arrivals.

This sees the park at its busiest in the lunchtime and post-work periods, with a steep drop-off in visitation after the 6pm-7pm rush. Mornings, interestingly, appear to be consistent but not as overwhelmingly busy, with a comparatively low 15.2% of visitors arriving between 7am-10am.

Overall, the data suggests that Paradise Point Parklands is well-used across weekdays and weekends, with a slightly larger proportion of visitors willing to travel from further afield on weekends. Visitors generally arrive consistently throughout the day, with peaks in the middle of the day and between 6pm-7pm. The parklands’ impressive catchment area (in an area known for its waterside attractions and parks) and spread of usage indicates that it’s serving a number of purposes throughout the day. With all this in mind, it will be fascinating to see how usage and visitation changes (or doesn’t) after the proposed park upgrades are implemented.