Playground's a swinging success

Tauranga pedestrian accident victim Hope Grey is home for good and will open a new playground designed to discourage children from crossing the road.
The Surrey Grove park is already the cheeky five-year-old's favourite place to play "on the monkey bars and the swing and the slide".
But Hope may need to draw up a waiting list for her playmates given the endless list of cousins, friends and schoolmates she reeled off to the Bay of Plenty Times.
The new playground - to be officially opened next Thursday - has been built to discourage neighbourhood children from running across Fraser St to play at Merivale School.
It is part of the Merivale Neighbourhood Plan developed by a partnership between Tauranga City Council and Merivale Community Centre.
The council bought the land a year ago to provide a safe place for children from the area to play away from busy traffic.
The need for the park was reinforced when Hope was hit on a pedestrian crossing on Fraser St in March and lay in a critical condition for weeks. "So in many ways, having Hope there really brings it home," said Merivale community co-ordinator Audrey Hughes.
Mrs Hughes was the driving force behind a 665-strong petition to Tauranga City Council - formed after Hope's accident - urging them to improve safety conditions at the controversial Merivale shopping centre crossing.
She recently attended a meeting with Mayor Stuart Crosby and other councillors to discuss possible solutions.
"But the topography of the land makes it difficult to find solutions."
The petition was with all other submissions for next year's annual plan, Mrs Hughes said.
Hope is now going to school for an hour every day - on the advice or her occupational therapist - and settling in well.
However, mum Eileen wanted to cut it back to three days a week for an hour and a half each time, so the youngster could be there for "play-time".
"Pulling Hope out at 10am ... I did that the other day and she got really sad. I thought 'this is pretty sad, she needs to feel like part of the team'."
Mrs Grey said Hope's mischievous behaviour had settled down considerably since they arrived back in Tauranga last week.
"But the hardest part is trying to discern which is her behaviour and which is her injury."
Hope proudly told the Bay Times she had been to see a paediatrician.
"He was really happy with me," she said.
The 53-year-old Auckland man who hit the youngster was due to appear in Tauranga District Court on June 8 on charges of careless driving causing injury.
Mrs Grey hoped seeing how well Hope was coping would lessen the mental burden on the man.