New playground designed to be inclusive, accessible for all kids
A certain logic would suggest that a children’s playground in University District has to be something special.
After all, universities are about innovation, exploration and leading-edge ideas, and children are the essence of opportunity, potential and future possibility.
So, a playground in University District, now under development west of the University of Calgary campus, might be expected to provide innovative ways for kids — all kids — to thrive and express their potential.
And, so it is with the brand-new playground in the heart of the University District.
“The new Northwest Commons Park is part of our vision to create a community that’s thoughtfully and inclusively designed for all residents and visitors,” says Travis Oberg, senior development manager at West Campus Development Trust, the organization set up by the U of C to oversee development of University District.
For the newly completed playground project, the trust partnered with IBI Group, Park N Play Design, Level Playing Field and Wilco Contractors.
“We were trying to be thoughtful, mindful and inclusive, and we were very aware that we’re adjacent to a children’s hospital. Also, bringing the people of our community together is part of our vision,” Oberg says. “We felt that a thoughtful playground had to be part of this location and that really meant making it inclusive.”
He notes that the park is located in the centre of University District, so that it’s a short walk for all residents to get there.
Oberg says Northwest Commons Park is a Playcore National Demonstration Site that incorporates the seven principles for inclusive playground design: accessible to children with mobility challenges; inclusive of those with diverse physical abilities; easy to understand, enables participation and success; enables every child to participate at their own level; provides both safety and challenge; supports varying degrees of participation; and provides comfort for all levels of motor control.
The park is wheelchair accessible, with wide ramps giving access to monkey bars, slides, swings and a climbing net, all underlaid with poured-in-place rubber matting made from recycled tires.
Oberg said the swings are large, boat-like structures that accommodate a wheelchair and seating for additional people, while the climbing net and monkey bars include transfer points, so that kids arriving in wheelchairs can move from their chairs to the equipment and back to their chairs more easily.
Slides, meanwhile, are built with rollers that give children a heightened sensory experience that’s very important for certain types of disabilities.
“Parks mean different things to different people,” Oberg says.
Accordingly, the area includes a giant patio chess board and chess pieces and a weather-proof pingpong table.
The University District is in an 80-hectare development that will eventually include 6,000 homes, 250,000 square feet of retail and 1.5 million square feet of office space, as well as 16 hectares of park space and 12 kilometres of walking and biking trails.
For those with pets, there’s a fenced dog park with separate off-leash areas for large and small dogs. The dog park is covered in artificial turf for excellent drainage, easy maintenance and greater durability than natural grass.
Oberg says the master plan for University District places special emphasis on green space to offset its urban location and higher-density design. While the city requires 10 per cent of new developments to be given to parks, University District has allocated 20 per cent to green space.