The accessible playground structure at the Royal Heights Veterans’ Memorial Park is now complete, and according to Rod March, the manager of parks and facilities for the City of Estevan, it has been another popular attraction for the park since it opened.
The equipment was open for the first time on June 3. March said construction went well, and he’s happy to have it finished.
“We’ve had a lot of positive comments,” said March.
It will be accessible to a variety of people, including those with mobility, vision, auditory and accessibility issues.
“It hits on four key elements, but there are different elements depending on the accessibility that we’re after. In this case, it was a mix of all four,” said March.
The playground structure is based on the Rick Hansen design for accessibility.
Pour in place rubber mulch is at the surface of the equipment.
“It is a rubber mulch that is specifically designed for playgrounds, but then it’s glued together with a binder, and it’s done in … lifts. So they’ll put down a layer, it’s glued together, then another layer on top of that is glued together, and then finally you get up to a five-inch height.”
The thickness of the rubberized compound will provide a cushion for fall protection.
It also allows for a design to be included. Since the park is named for veterans, and the Estevan branch of the Royal Canadian Legion has its honour wall nearby, poppies were painted on the rubberized surface.
It did take time for the rubber to cure so that it could be ready for the public.
There was one setback during the construction process when bags of the rubberized compound were stolen. The project was delayed by a day or two.
“That was the top coating, which is the colouring we were using, so we had to rejig or redesign the top,” said March.
Cameras have now been installed in the park due to the theft. March believes it’s unfortunate the city had to take the step, but he said they want to deter further incidents.
“I want people to come out and enjoy it, just respect the rules that are written there so it makes it easier for us to maintain and keep for the long run,” he said.
Also completed was a washroom facility that was constructed at Royal Heights. It has been open since June 1. The Estevan Rotary Club’s Foundation contributed $25,000 to the washrooms. The spray park is also open for the season.
“The park is getting a lot of use. We still have some landscaping to do in the area, of course, because when we disturb so much area doing the construction, there’s bound to be some landscaping to do, but for the most part, there was no interruption to the park itself. People didn’t appear to be unhappy because we had it open as quickly as we could, and we worked around people where we could.”
March said the city will now work on other parks to bring them up to the standard that the public expects.
