$9.5M FOR PLAYGROUNDS
City to replace aging equipment
City council this week approved spending nearly $9.5 million to replace aging playground units at parks throughout Windsor.
The decision followed an outside consultant's report that detailed how 33 of the city's 125 playground units have reached the end of their life span and should be removed as a safety precaution by the end of 2023.
Overall, 71 of the units need to be replaced within the next 10 years.
Although many are still in satisfactory condition, there is more urgent priority for the 33 units that must be removed within a couple of years, according to the consultant's inspection.
“Delaying replacement of these units (to be removed) will result in loss of play value to the community,” said an administration report to council on Monday.
One of the playground units at Wilson Park will be replaced as part of the Adie Knox renewal project.
It is expected the remaining 32 will take two years to replace. The units are located at parks in every area of the city.
“Playgrounds are one of our most popular assets,” said James Chacko, the city's senior manager of parks. “Many of these playground units are at end of life. We know the time has come for replacement and that 33 were identified. That council has approved this is great.
“We will get to work now on consultation so that people can have a say on the amenities, colours or themes they would like to see at each.”
Tenders will be issued within weeks for the replacement of the units with site work, such as surface preparation, scheduled to begin this winter.
Installation of the new units will take place starting next spring and summer.
As part of the process, the city will soon launch a public feedback period for each park that has been tagged for playground unit replacement, Chacko said. It most likely will feature an online survey where people will be able to provide input on what they would like to see featured as part of each new playground unit.
“We will have consultation for each one of the 33 parks,” he said. “We will ask about different colours or themes. We will take back their thoughts and work with the successful vendor to design each unit based on that input.”
City council has approved spending $9.43 million to pay for the new playground units.
Those funds will be spread over four years in the city's budget between 2022 and 2026.
It is hoped the city can secure grants from the federal or provincial government — or perhaps even corporate backers — to help offset some of the anticipated costs.