Playground Design Underway After Fantastic Community Engagement

Engagement with Youth
The sessions themselves were inspirational for staff who saw youth connect and dialogue in a way that seemed extraordinary. The engagement sessions provided a glimpse into the power of collaboration as participants as young as 8 years old: talked, compromised, and discussed how they would all together arrive at an ideal outcome. Staff were struck by the sensitivity of these younger age groups as they sought to ensure the inclusion of peers with accessible needs, or who might benefit from attention being paid to sensory stimulus or reduction. Each collaborative landing added another piece of the consultative puzzle. In the end, staff and consultants realize that they were witnessing the real benefit of this play space: the opportunity to form small communities, and in the process contribute to a larger one that is the sum of its parts.

The Playground Layout
The current activity has staff and Envision Tatham working with Open Space and Kompan to create a final design that includes all custom play features, surfacing needs, earthworks to create land forms, accessibility provisions and enhancements, integration of water into the play experience, and connections to the natural environment. The equipment will be largely constructed from and/or paneled with wood from the Robinia genus of trees – known for being a vibrant, fast-growing, and therefore sustainable source of materials.

Staff and consultants continue to work with the Children’s Treatment Network to access and guide inclusive play.

Additional Opportunities
The development of the playground at Sunset Point has provided additional opportunities to enhance and activate a larger area of use.

Collingwood residents, Ray and Wyn Smith, have generously offered, at no expense to the project, to construct a covered pavilion at the playground in memoriam to their recently passed son, Thom. This space will be just outside of the traditional play area and nestled into the adjacent cedar forest (see Appendix B). The Waterfront Master Plan identified a potential for a Harvest Table location at Sunset Point, this will be the location of that furnishing. The value of this contribution is estimated at approximately $70,000 to $75,000.

Public Open House on Final Design
A final design will be presented in a Public Open House in December of this year.

Public Engagement Summary
https://collingwood.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/39297?preview=39299

Community Survey – Raw Data
https://collingwood.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/39297?preview=39298