NEW PLAYGROUND
Accessible recreation area expected to be operational this week
Cantley Village neighbourhood getting new accessible playground.
The Cantley Village Recreation Association is finally getting its accessible playground after more than seven years of fundraising and a land dispute.
Equipment started being installed on Aug. 27 and the rubber safe-fall ground is expected to be poured by Sept. 9.
Even though the association is still about $10,000 short to cover all the expenses, Kim Sultan said they are confident they’ll get the money in time.
“It’s been like a dream. We’ve had this vision for years now,” said Sultan, a married mother of four who is secretary of the association.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed that the money will come in and we will be able to pay off everything.”
Sultan said some of the money promised to the organization for the $230,000 playground hasn’t arrived and a few financial promises that fell through. But this isn’t dampening her spirits.
“Every time we drive by the playground there’s about a dozen kids sitting on the swings, watching the work,” Sultan said, pointing out the fundraising efforts seemed to have built up community spirit.
“To have a small community like Cantley Village pull together to build a playground, we think that is a wonderful side effect.”
Before Sultan, Erin Arsenault (association president) and Allison MacDonald (association vice-president) became heavily involved in the initiative,
$12,000-$15,000 was raised through community fundraisers.
Since getting involved, the women entered video contests, wrote grant proposals and conducted door-to-door campaigns to get the money needed.
Sultan they decided the CBRM needed an accessible playground.
“Open Hearth is accessible but there isn’t any equipment someone in a wheelchair can use,” said Sultan.
MacDonald said she is relived the project has now become a reality
“After last summer’s property
dispute, I honestly didn’t know if we’d ever get here. But collectively, we came together and decided we couldn’t give up. We had to push forward,” she said.
The property dispute was between the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, which has always maintained the land, and a developer who was paying taxes on it. The two parties came to an agreement in February.
Steve Gillespie, CBRM councillor for the area, credited the “hard work, determination and commitment” of the Cantley Village Recreation and the community.
“Projects like these are achievable when communities come together and work toward a similar goal regardless of the obstacles thrown in their way,” he said.