Several families were taking advantage of the beautiful late summer day to check out the new digs at Clark Gillies Park on Wednesday afternoon, enjoying the modern and improved equipment and overall safer environment.
And it wasn’t just a small cosmetic makeover, either — a new swing set, slides and climbing ladder were added to the jungle gym area, while benches and picnic tables will make things more comfortable for those watching over their little ones.
It’s all part of a long-term plan by the city to improve parks in the city, many of which are long overdue to be freshened up.
“We have a lot of aging playgrounds in our community that need to be addressed, so we created a prioritized list based on their condition, and every year we’re going to update a different area or different playground,” said Derek Blais, director of parks and recreation. “Part of that will be reaching out to the local community with surveys looking at what they’re interested in.”
That was the case with Clark Gillies Park — an online and mailed survey in early May sought direction from the neighbourhood as to what they’d like to see in the facility, located behind Ross Wells Park at Ross Street and Oxford Crescent. That info was compiled and plans were put into place to create a playground that would be well used by the community.
The survey helped determine the age level of the park as well.
“When it comes to prioritizing them, we determine what the demographics are in a 500 metre radius of a playground, so that helps us determine if we cater more to a toddler or older kids, those types of things,” Blais said.
The plan is to update one facility a year, with tentative plans in place to make Moose Square on Stadacona West the project for 2022.
“It’s an old metal structure from the 80s and there’s a lot of kids in that area, so it’s definitely in need of renewal,” Blais said.
The grand opening was originally scheduled for 11 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 27, but was rescheduled due to inclement weather. The grand opening will now be held at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 31.
