REGINA - Kids in the Glencairn neighbourhood of Regina have a spacious new playground area to enjoy.
Wednesday marked the grand opening of the Jumpstart Inclusive Playground and Spray Pad in Glencairn Park. It was a $1.6 million joint project of the City of Regina and Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities. Canadian Tire’s contribution was $1.2 million, including from Regina’s independent Canadian Tire Dealers Mario Coccimiglio and François Bien.
This marked the charity’s first dual-construction project with both a playground as well as a spray pad area. The play area, which includes swings, climbing structures and a merry-go-round-type feature, is built to accommodate all those with physical, cognitive or sensory disabilities. The area included signage in Braille and in sign language, as well as specialized ramps and also an area that kids with autism can use. The area featured a lot of variety in its play structures so there was something everyone could enjoy.
Glenn McLean, Regional Manager with Canadian Tire Jumpstart, explained that something like this was initiated by their donors who showed interest in an accessible playground.
“When they initiated that we initiated conversations with the city of Regina and they were more than happy to come on board and work with us, and the collaboration has been a wonderful wonderful opportunity to get this in the ground this year,” said McLean.
As for the features, McLean said they wanted to make sure it was inclusive of kids of all abilities, and the components were all chosen with purpose. “We lean on a number of people who have that expertise to determine what goes in. We’ve done a number of these across Canada and as these go in you’ll learn more and more, right from the manufacturer who supplies the equipment through the expertise that come from the different municipalities that we work from.”
At the grand opening ceremonies on Thursday were plenty of kids wearing red Jumpstart shirts, enjoying the play structure.
“This is what it’s all about. It’s about the kids, and getting them out playing, becoming creative, working together.”
“I think that anything we can do to bring people together and young people together in play, that’s the way you build relationships and forge understandings,” said Mayor Sandra Masters. “We need to enjoy our outdoor space here… investing in accessible playgrounds, inclusive playgrounds, is important for the future I think.”
This is not the only city recreation project that has included accessibility features. The new Wascana Pool also includes accessibility features and will also be putting in a lift for the water slides to improve accessibility in the future.
“It’s about walking the walk. You can’t say you’re inclusive without including those inclusive features,” said Mayor Masters.
Masters said this what the city of Regina is striving for as they work on all of their playgrounds to make them accessible. “To be able to jumpstart this with Jumpstart is fantastic.”
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