Slides close after burning backsides
City officials are looking at ways to cool down south- facing equipment
Nobody’s having any fun on the slides at St. Patrick’s Island.
The playground equipment has been on a timeout ever since it was blamed for burning backsides.
The south- facing, metal slides had attracted considerable heat during the island park’s opening weekend at the beginning of the month. City hall received a complaint that a child had suffered a friction burn or rash after one uncomfortable glide.
The slides have been shut down ever since.
City officials are now looking at either adding a layer of material on top of the slides to prevent further problems or draping a canopy over the area to block out the sun’s rays.
“Rather than putting somebody in potential harm’s way, particularly a child, which we would never want to do, we just closed them down until we can put the application in place,” said Susan Veres, spokeswoman for the Calgary Municipal Land Corp.
Coun. Gian- Carlo Carra said his three- year- old son was scorched by the slides when they visited the playground at St. Patrick’s Island. But the boy was undeterred.
“He screamed when he got scalded by them,” Carra said, “but then he was back on them like two minutes later when he figured out how to avoid the scalding.”
Dana Wheatley, author of the blog Calgary Playground Review, said she was surprised park designers had metal slides installed on the south- facing slopes, given that overheating is such a known problem.
“It’s important for kids to take some risks in their play, but that obviously doesn’t extend to hot metal slides,” she wrote in an email, adding St. Patrick’s Island is a “beautiful new addition to our city.”
The island park, in the middle of the Bow River near East Village, is now home to a new beach, natural wetlands and an amphitheatre, among other features, after a twoyear renovation project.
The playground, which sits in the heart of the urban park, features all sorts of trappings for all ages of young adventure seekers, from wobbly platforms and swings, to rope steps and a climbing wall.
But the slides have been turned into no- joy zones, with barriers now blocking the top ends.
“It’s obviously a lesson learned,” Carra said, referring to the sunscorched design. “I support the CMLC in their quest to figure out whether they can cost- effectively shade them during the hot months.”