THUNDER BAY – Work is underway on ambitious makeovers for two prominent Thunder Bay playgrounds, but it will mean equipment at Centennial Park and Boulevard Lake is out of commission for much of the summer.
Crews recently resumed work at Centennial, which will boast a larger, wooden playground featuring a forest zipline and other new attractions based around a woodland theme.
The city expects the structure to be finished and ready for use by the beginning of July.
Workers will begin removing the existing playground at Boulevard Lake in the coming days, while construction of a larger, accessible playground that will also feature adult fitness equipment isn’t expected to finish until mid-September.
Werner Schwar, supervisor of parks and open space planning with the city, said the summer shutdown of one of the city’s most popular playgrounds was unavoidable.
“All I can say is that structure has gotten to the end of its life, so it really did have to be replaced,” he said. “Unfortunately, we can’t really keep it open and build in that area at the same time. So we ask for patience in waiting that one out until it’s done.”
Both playgrounds are set for significant transformations.
At Centennial, equipment in several different “pod areas” are meant to appeal to a range of ages.
Older children will find excitement in a zip line and climbing structures, while Schwar expects younger children to delight in new ground-level features, some of which will be incorporated into the surrounding wooded area.
“We’ve had zip lines [in Thunder Bay] way in the past before, but currently we don’t, so that hopefully will be an exciting event,” he said.
“We’re making use of the surrounding trees to have some ground-level activities to encourage kids to go exploring a little bit, to find little secret houses and that kind of thing. So there’ll be a lot of different activities there, and all based on the woodland theme.”
There will also be more traditional structures like slides, and an area for families to gather and watch their children with shade structures and seating.
It’s the first wooden playground the city has built in years, but Schwar said new designs and materials will address shortcomings of those previous wooden structures.
“The reason the old wood went away in fashion is because they used pressure-treated wood,” which degraded more quickly and caused splintering concerns. “The new wood is all round – it looks like logs – but it’s made with a special hardwood that’s more rot-resistant naturally and also less prone to splintering. We think the kids will really like something different, and it really looks like it belongs in the forest.”
The city budgeted $700,000 for the replacement of the Centennial Park playground.
The new playground at Boulevard Lake will be notable for its focus on accessible and inclusive design elements meant to support play for a full range of abilities and ages.
“The way it’s been designed is to encourage interaction between able-bodied kids and kids with mobility or cognitive challenges,” said Schwar. “The idea is everyone plays together, and that really will be a hub for accessibility and inclusivity in the north end of the city.”
The current raised sand surface, no longer compliant with requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), will be replaced with rubber, while other playground elements like ground-level features and double-wide ramps will be wheelchair-friendly.
The design is also meant to accommodate those with sensory and developmental disabilities, offering quiet zones and sensory play.
The city also plans to add an adult fitness area beside the playground.
Plans for the Boulevard Lake playground, including the focus on inclusive and accessible play, were expanded when the city entered into a sponsorship agreement with Jumpstart, a charity associated with Canadian Tire.
The charity is expected to contribute $750,000 of the project’s estimated $1 million cost, and the playground is likely to follow a design resembling the Canadian Tire logo.
