Windsor enjoys new themed playgrounds
Mark Brown/Converged Citizen Staff
A rocket ship is worked into the playground structure at Remington Booster Park in Windsor on April 12. Space travel is the theme of this accessible playground, one of five in Windsor. (PHOTO/Mark Brown)
Natalie Pelisek Brown, 2 and Grace Pelisek Brown, 3, both of Tecumseh, play on the dinosaur-themed play structure at Mic Mac Park in west Windsor on April 5. (PHOTO/Mark Brown)
The new sports-themed play structure is seen in the background at Wigle Park, Windsor on April 13. Wigle is Windsor’s oldest park, first laid out in 1909. (PHOTO/Mark Brown)
A lighthouse is the focal point of the nautical-themed playground at Kiwanis Park, Riverside, Windsor on April 12. The playground is one of five new ones in Windsor featuring a theme and accessible (PHOTO/Mark Brown)
With the arrival of spring Windsor children can now enjoy five new playgrounds that show off different themes, as well as accommodate all users.
The City of Windsor teamed up with Play! by Crozier, a Toronto-based playground equipment manufacturer, to create new playgrounds at five of the city’s parks: Wigle, Mic Mac, Ford Test Track, Kiwanis and Remington. Each playground has a specific theme that often pays homage to the site it sits on and is completely accessible.
“The City of Windsor worked really hard to incorporate accessible routes to the playground, meeting all the required slopes, everything like that,” said Eric Nadeau, a sales associate at Crozier. “Within the playground, that’s where we come in and make sure there’s ramp accessibility. There’s both ground level and elevated accessible features.”
While Ontario law requires all playgrounds to be accessible by 2025, Crozier said it was important that the structures were able to accommodate children of all abilities.
“The guiding principle of an accessible playground is that regardless of your ability you can have access to all types of play, such as sensory play and physical play,” said Nadeau.
Work began on the playgrounds this past fall, said Stefan Fediuk, landscape architect for the City of Windsor. He said there was plenty of community input surrounding the themes of the parks, including choosing colours of the structures and the heritage of the area.
“Wigle (Park) had the city’s first baseball diamond. In order to maintain that sports theme, we decided to make the playground of a sports theme,” said Fediuk. “Ford Test Track is a vehicular, automotive theme due to the nature of what the site used to be.”
Kiwanis Park in Riverside incorporates a lighthouse theme due to its proximity to the Detroit River and is located within sight of Windmill Point Light on the American side of the river. The other two themed parks are at Mic Mac Park on the west end, featuring a dinosaur theme and at Remington Booster Park, which has a spaceship motif.
Fediuk said an involved process goes into the creation of each playground with part construction, installation and site work taking up to three months from start to finish. He agrees with Nadeau that the playgrounds need to be accessible for children of all abilities and those that care for them.
“It’s also for the accessibility of some of the caregivers as well, to make sure they’re able to get up there if the child is in distress,” said Fediuk.
The locations of each park can be found on the Parks and Forestry page on the City of Windsor’s website.
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