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Weekly Independent Local News
Friday, March 29, 2024

Community steps up for accessible playground

BY VANESSA STARK

Community Volunteers, along with the Ennismore Optimist Club are undergoing a fundraising campaign to install a fully accessible playground at the Ennismore Waterfront Park.

Julie Grant, an Ennismore resident, gave a delegation to Selwyn council on Tuesday afternoon requesting their support and help in their efforts to create a fully accessible playground adjacent to the current play area at the Ennismore Waterfront Park.

Grant told council that she is a mom of a special needs child, Jude, and the creator of a website called Accessible Playgrounds Ontario (accessibleplaygroundsontario.ca).

After contacting over 300 municipalities, Grant was able to create her website which catalogs all the accessible playgrounds across the province. She said that the closest one to Selwyn was 64 km away in Port Hope.

Grant said the accessible playground initiative which has been named Judes Joy in honour of her son, is an inclusive playground project for Selwyn Township that would provide the community and region with an extraordinary play space that has optimal accessibility.

She explained that Jude suffered a hypoxic brain injury at birth which left him with a lifelong disability, cerebral palsy, and global developmental delay.

“At the age of two and a half, Jude is currently unable to stand or walk independently. This past summer, we purchased his first walker to give him the ability to explore and play without physical assistance. To help Jude master the ability to use his walker and promote his learning in a fun setting, we wanted to integrate his walker into his outdoor play experiences on playgrounds.”

Grant and her family quickly discovered they were unable to do this locally as they immediately experienced barriers at their local playgrounds. Jude was unable to propel his walker on wood fiber or sand surfaces found at local playgrounds.

“To support Jude’s development, we needed to find him playgrounds with rubber surfacing and other accessible play elements.”

Grant, along with the help of other community volunteers, and the Ennismore Optimist Club are now requesting the townships help in creating a playground with poured in place rubber surfacing, a ramped primary structure with game elements and slides, music elements, a swing area that includes an accessible swing, and an accessible Merry-Go-Round.

The group has been collaborating with Henderson Recreation which installed the current playground structure at the Ennismore Waterfront park back in 2011 which was also installed through the help of the local Optimist Club.

The cost of this play structure that is planned to be between 2,240 sq/ft and 2,640 sq/ft would be an estimated $185,000 - $208,000 on top of site preparation costs of about $20,000.

Mike Richardson, manager of recreation services with the township recommended that the township endorse this project in principle and that the Township contribute to the project through in-kind staff support and the installation of an accessible pathway from the parking lot to the playground which would be included in a future budget year pending the group’s successful fundraising efforts. In addition, it was recommended that township accept donations and issue tax receipts for this fundraising effort as the Optimist Club is a not-for-profit organization without charity status and therefore cannot issue tax receipts.

Coun. Mary Coulas wanted clarification on liability issues with accessible play structures as she is currently working with the school board to install one at a local school. She stated that due to liabilities, the school board does not allow children to play on accessible playgrounds as soon as there is frost and asked if the same would be true for the township.

Staff answered saying that no, they do not restrict when residents can use the play areas, they would be open year round. However no playgrounds or paths are maintained during the winter months.

Coulas suggested that if they were to label it as accessible, consideration should be given to maintaining this specific site year-round should it be built.

The recommendation from staff was moved by Coun. Henry and seconded by Deputy Mayor Black. It was carried.