Hazlewood Park - Adelaide Suburbs

Hazelwood Park is a middle-upper class suburb in the City of Burnside, Adelaide, South Australia with a census area population of 1,717 people. The suburb is about 5 kilometres east of the Central business district. Hazelwood Park, a suburban park inside the suburb, is the major attraction in the suburb. This includes the Burnside Swimming Centre, a popular site in the summer. Much of the remainder of the suburb is residential but there is a small shopping area along Glynburn Road on the eastern edge. The area was first settled by Europeans in 1848 but has seen many community changes over the years.

The suburb is split in half by Greenhill Road, to the north there are residential dwellings and the park. To the south and east are the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges with continued residential properties. Hazelwood Park is bounded to the north by Knightsbridge Road, to the east by Glynburn Road, to the south by Cooper Place and to the west by Devereux Road and a line along the back of the blocks between Hazelwood and Tusmore avenues.

Demographics

According to the 2006 Census the population of the Hazelwood Park census area was 1,717 people. Approximately 52.8% of the population were female, 73.7% are Australian born and over 89.5% of residents are Australian citizens. Hazelwood Park has an educated population with over 40% of the population holding a degree or diploma. This level of education attainment is reflected in the suburb's employment patterns: the most popular industries for employment were education, health and community services (30.7%) and finance, insurance and business services (23.5%). The median weekly household income is A$1,182 or more per week, compared with $924 in Adelaide overall.

Hazelwood Park has a higher than average stable family population with a large segment of both children and their mature aged parents. Most residences are family occupied but the number of older empty-nesters (whose children have left home) is growing. Retired population is relatively low, but continuing to grow. 79.2% of dwellings were detached houses but this figure is falling in favour of attached dwellings. Subdivisions are also becoming very much of a common sight in recent years. Interestingly the number of development approvals has been falling since the 2001–02 financial year.

Attractions

The biggest attraction in the suburb is the park and accompanying Burnside Swimming Centre. There is a lap pool, plus a 25-metre kids pool and a wading pool. There is also a sauna and steamroom, plus two playgrounds and a kiosk. This location is only open through summertime because it is an outdoor pool and is very popular on hot days in Adelaide and when it is open late. First creek continues its journey from the hills through the park, the water flowing from Waterfall Gully and into Tusmore. The creek cuts through the middle of the park and is dammed at one point to create a pond. This is a popular place for children to feed the ducks and families to sit by. There is one playground in the north-east of the park and there are several sets of tables and a few barbecues dotted throughout the park. The park is relatively large by local standards and there are no playing fields. It is more strongly characterised by massive old Gum trees that can be seen from blocks away. Although it has good facilities, it is normally not as popular as the nearby smaller Tusmore Park, Adelaide Tusmore Park. It is also the location of a very popular traditional carols night, held annually on the first Sunday in December.

Shopping

Hazelwood Park contains a number of small commercial precincts, concentrated around the Glynburn/Greenhill Road roundabout. The area was known previously as ''The Feathers'', and many stores have adopted this moniker into their names. The shops situated along Greenhill Road are part of the Feathers Shopping Center, and include the local fish and chip shop, an Indian restaurant and a Pizza Bar. At the western corner of Greenhill and Glynburn is a medium-sized commercial center, containing a Goodlife Health Clubs Goodlife gym, a Fasta Pasta restaurant and a number of small offices. Opposite this complex to the north is the Feathers Hotel, the only one in the immediate area, situated in the neighbouring suburb of Burnside, South Australia. A local supermarket is also situated near the Waterfall Terrace/Glynburn Road intersection. Larger shopping complexes in the area are located outside of the suburb – at nearby Burnside Village, Marryatville, South Australia Marryatville Shopping Center and the "The Parade", Norwood Parade. Shops in the ''Feathers'' shopping center, along Greenhill Road

Transport

For the Hazelwood Park census area, like most Australian areas, transport is primarily car based, with on average 1.56 cars per household. This is typified in that 68.5% of all residents drive to work and only 5.8% were passengers. Traffic congestion is relatively light in Hazelwood Park and only occurs during peak periods on the two main thoroughfares, Greenhill Road and Glynburn Roads. The city can typically be reached in ten minutes, and fifteen in peak periods using Greenhill Road. Like most Adelaide suburbs, the major roads have a 60km/h speed limit and the side streets a 50km/h limit. Hazelwood Park's road network (with few exceptions) follows the usual Adelaide grid pattern.

Only 7.5% took the bus to work, using Adelaide Metro buses, the only public transport in the suburb. Normal routes into the City are by the 142 or 147 which both run into or close to the suburb. The 820/821 bus travels from the Adelaide Hills into the CBD along Greenhill Road. Buses typically run on 30-minute intervals during weekdays and one-hour intervals at other times. Unfortunately, due to the heavy emphasis on car transport in the area, the bus routes are limited and under-developed, particularly compared to the efficient public transit links to the rest of metropolitan Adelaide.