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Contractor seeks input from public on Harvey Curry Park redesign

August 12, 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

After 20 years of being an active and fun place to play in Orangeville, the splash pad and playground at Harvey Curry Park is starting to show it’s age. 

Harvey Curry Park, at Town Line and Dawson Road, is going to get a big overhaul that should be completed by July of 2020.

The current splash pad will be torn out and replaced with a system that re-uses water. The playground equipment will be replaced and updated. 

The current washroom facilities at the Park do not require an update.

To get input from the public on the new design, Janet Elliot from Open Space Solutions, and landscape architect Steve Bendo from RK and Associates, held a special information pop-up at the Park last Saturday, July 27, where they greeted visitors and presented artist’s renderings of the way the park may look once it’s completed. 

They were answering questions and taking suggestions from people who use the park, as to what they would like the new facilities to look like.

Open Space Solutions has received the contract from the Town do to the playground renovations.

“We were awarded the contract to build this new park,” Ms. Elliot explained. “Part of that contract was to do community consults on the design. So we came out to the park to speak to the community and see what they like and what they don’t like and try to gather information. We’re showing them different water park concepts and playground concepts.”

The basic shape of the Park will remain the same with a senior playground area, a junior playground area, and the splash pad. There will also be a pavilion constructed in the middle of the park.

One of the concerns visitors mentioned was the park is not identified when you are travelling along Town Line. There are no signs indicating the Park is there and you could easily drive by and miss the location.

Artists’ renderings show the possible layout with the new facilities and the grass areas which will be maintained as they currently are.

“We’re showing kids and parents what this park could look like,” Ms. Elliot explained. “This current splash pad uses a lot of water. The new pad will re-circulate the water. The new park will be larger than the current design. For the playground we’re asking people what they like. We have two concepts. One is a more urban, European style, the other is traditional. The playground will have (artificial) grass in the senior area and rubber in the junior area. The biggest thing with playgrounds is the surfacing.”

The surfaces are designed to limit the impact of a fall of up to ten feet in case an accident occurred.

The response to the proposed design was overwhelmingly positive from people who seemed to like the new concept and the fact that the facilities are being updated.

Work on the construction of the new park is slated to get underway just after Labour Day when they will start removing the concrete footings in the splash pad.

Completion time is expected to be before July of 2020, meaning the new facilities will be ready for next summer.

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