Petition for playground fence

Jewish families in St Kilda East are calling for Glen Eira Council to install fencing around Green Meadows Gardens playground, citing safety concerns for their young children.

A Change.org petition has attracted 159 signatures requesting protective fencing at the playground, which sits between two roads, and installation of Shabbat-friendly toilets that don’t require electricity.

A local mother who preferred not to be named, who has two-year-old twins and a five-year-old, told The AJN that Saturday afternoon park visits after synagogue services have become stressful for Jewish mothers managing multiple children.

“I’ve got twins. One runs one way, one runs the other. So I cannot even keep up because one’s running on the road and the other one is running out of the park the other way. And I’ve got to watch the five-year-old. So it’s almost crazy to go to the park,” she said.

She explained that many Jewish mothers face similar challenges with “three or four kids and all different ages”, making supervision difficult without a fence around the playground area.

“I literally walk into the park, and I’m stressed the minute I walk in,” the mother said, adding that “every mother there would love a fence”.

Glen Eira mayor Simone Zmood acknowledged the community’s concerns but defended the council’s design approach.

“Our general design approach is to avoid fully fencing playgrounds. Instead, we use buffers like landscaping and planting to create safe and welcoming environments that are integrated into the broader park,” she said.

Zmood added that “fencing can create a sense of separation or enclosure, whereas open designs help parks feel more connected and accessible”.

However, the mayor indicated the council would consider the feedback.

“We’re open to reviewing the current layout to assess any potential risks, and we’ll consider the feedback we receive as part of that process,” she said.

Sean Watts, Glen Eira Council team leader of Recreation and Open Space Development, noted the park includes some safety features, including “fencing between the playground and the lane behind it, gated entry points, and approximately two-metre-wide raised garden beds with established shrubs and plantings”.

The petition also requests installation of “a toilet with a manual door, a flush button and a sink that do not operate on sensors” to accommodate Shabbat observance, when using electricity is prohibited.

The mother acknowledged the toilet issue but emphasised that “the fence is more of a major issue”.