City to review $7.4M upgrade to playground equipment
$7.4M parks plan should see kids swinging, sliding by year’s end
The city is hurrying up its $7.4-million plan to install new playgrounds in 28 city parks that had their old playgrounds yanked out for safety reasons. When council approved the replacement program last year, city staff were warning it would take at least two years to get so many playgrounds replaced. But a new report going to council Monday recommends dividing all the work among four different playground companies, so kids can be swinging and sliding in brand-new accessible playgrounds by the end of this year.
“I know people are very anxious to get their playgrounds back in their parks, it’s really something families enjoy, being able to walk to a park and use these amenities,” parks, recreation and culture corporate leader Jan Wilson said Tuesday, referring to the calls her staff fielded from families wanting to know when their parks will get playgrounds.
When members of the public were recently asked what they want the most in city parks, their top two replies were trails and playgrounds, said Wilson. These parks have all been without playgrounds for at least a year, and some as long as two years. “They’re very desired and they’re missed right now,” she said.
The proposed playground installations going to council Monday cover 26 of the 28 parks, because the city was already able to provide a playground at one park, Bellewood. And at Riverside Baseball Park there is an ambitious redevelopment plan spearheaded by Riverside Minor Baseball that calls for a bigger accessible playground than the city originally planned. The city is planning on contributing at least $181,102 toward that project.
The old playgrounds were removed during the last two years after a 2015 audit identified units that were either unsafe or needed parts that were no longer available. Some of the oldest playground units dated back to 1992 and did not meet the current Canadian Standards Association guidelines.
Staff were struggling to find a way to pay for such a big replacement project, until council approved the $7.4-million plan in September using $4.3 million from a fund to build a new downtown parking garage that the city no longer needed.
Four companies are being recommended to erect playgrounds in the 26 parks for a total price of $4.44 million, which doesn’t include extra costs such as site work, pathways and benches. The overall project is expected to be within the $7.4-million budget, Wilson said.
“It’s quite an extensive project and we are hopeful all the companies will have everything done by the end of this year, but it could carry over into early next year,” if they run into any challenges, she added.
The new modern playgrounds will feature rubber flooring, and many will have themes, which have proved very popular among kids. Many of the big new playgrounds in the city have themes such as space and pirates. Parks getting new playgrounds are: Oak Elm, Tilston Park South, Bruce Ave., Devonshire Heights, Realtor, North Talbot, Bush, Marguriet, Holburn, Ypres, Malden, Flora, Alexander, Goldenwood, Dawson, Brumpton, Lake Como, Parent, Leafield, Mark, Hall Farms, Polonia, Atkinson, Kimmy Lucier and George Ave. parks, and the Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex (South Windsor Arena).
People are very anxious to get their playgrounds back, it’s really something families enjoy, being able to walk to a park and use these amenities.