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Town needs more community input in park design: resident

June 27, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

All local parks should be the fruits of community involvement.

Wendy Cook, president of the Community Team of Everykids Park, asked Orangeville council during its June 24 meeting that an effort be made toward community participation in establishing future municipal parks.

She said taxpayers have a right to be included in the vendor selection, choosing the park’s location, and selecting the equipment to be in the park.

“So that the current families in Dufferin County will have access and have enjoyable play with their families that are safe and life-supporting,” Cook said.

She said the all-inclusive playground on Bredin Parkway was created with community support and volunteer efforts. There was a tremendous amount of support for the effort to establish the Everykids Park, she said.

“It was very much a community program,” Cook noted.

In fact, there are now 27 similar parks around the world because of the local facility.

Cook had what almost was a fatal accident with her son about two years ago, she said.

“It’s taken me about two years to calm down and come over the stress and trauma of that incident,” she said. “I almost completely tipped his wheelchair onto a hard surface coming off the walkway, the bridge coming off the play structure there.”

She said he could have incurred a brain injury and broken bones.

“There was so much support that went on for it (Everykids Park), that came from the community itself, that said they were ready that all children would be included in the playgrounds,” Cook said.

“If you go now to see some of these parks, you might be wondering where some of these kids are.”

The goal was to have Everykids Park represent as many families as possible with children with as many differing disabilities as possible so that most of the children could play together.

The last three playgrounds built do not have even a 50 per cent inclusion standard.

“You’d be lucky to get to a 30 per cent inclusion,” Cook said.

Heather Savage, the town’s community services general manager, said the most recent project for which the community was consulted was Rotary Park. That’s a six-phase construction project.

“The design concepts were designed and created based on stakeholder feedback, our user group feedback,” Savage said. “As we move forward in doing other parks, we will continue to do outreach to the community.”

“When it comes to the current state of Harvey Curry Park, I just wanted to let you know there was significant community consultation that went into that,” Mayor Lisa Post said and added that the consultation included several families who visited the park and had a say in its structures.

“So we do include community consultation in all of our parks,” Post said.

Cook said she was among the families who visited the park to offer feedback.

“It was more of a show and tell,” Cook said. “The ink was dry, the orders had been sent out. It wasn’t so much a community consult. It was a, ‘This is what’s coming and we hope you like it.’”

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