posted on August 28, 2008

Inside Toronto: Parents don't want change at their local playground

By: LISA RAINFORD
Published: August 27, 2008
Source: Inside Toronto

Parents are wary about potential changes the city could make to their kids' beloved Dufferin Grove Park playground, which is slated for "renewal" next spring.

Ward 18 (Davenport) Councillor Adam Giambrone confirmed that the city is in the midst of a public consultation process and said that people are concerned about what might replace the existing playground equipment. It needs replacing "because things wear out and safety issues have come to light," he said, but didn't elaborate.

The potential changes to the park are part of a $6 million 'playground safety project' launched in 2000.

Simon Evans, whose five-year-old daughter Haylee plays regularly at Dufferin Grove Park, said his concern, one he shares with many of the parents in the neighbourhood, is more about what the play structure could be replaced with than the fact that it is being replaced.

"The (playgrounds) we've seen (that have been replaced) don't encourage any challenge. Our daughter gets bored," Evans said.

Read more >>