It will be a little while longer before kids can play together in the yet-to-be built beach entry sandbox at Sunset Point playground, but the double-phase overhaul promises big things to come.
“I can’t tell you how much COVID has messed with this plan,” said Director of Parks, Recreation and Culture Dean Collver during a committee meeting last night (June 7).
But bit-by-bit the park is getting upgrades.
By the end of August, there will be two new accessible washrooms, a firefly forest, and an outdoor classroom with a performance stage.
Starting in September the old playground structures will be removed to make way for new ones.
A 20-foot lighthouse structure has been delivered to Collingwood and is ready for installation this fall.
By May 2022, the town will be officially opening a new park with multiple play spaces for different types of play, all of which is accessible for children and youth of various ages and abilities.
David Wood, a consultant with Envision Tatham, took members of the Corporate and Community Services Standing Committee through the various features coming to the five-acre Sunset Point EnviroPark.
A pre-fab washroom building is being added to the existing pavilion, and a new shelter and harvest table has already been installed.
In the forest toward the west end of the park will be a boardwalk with a firefly forest. The ‘firefly’ effect is a canopy of lights that will respond to the sounds that kids yell into two megaphones on the ground.
A stage and seating area will be installed nearby the washrooms, complete with a projection screen that can be pulled across for outdoor movie nights. There will be a power source within projection distance, noted Wood.
The youth playspace includes three areas starting with the lighthouse structure that includes a slide leading to ‘the bay’ and a zipline leading to a parkour course. ‘The Bay’ is a rubber-covered space with a ship play structure. The parkour course is a climbing and rope structure.
Nearby will be three more play areas for tots (aged 0-5 years old). The ‘town village’ is a play structure resembling homes.
“It’s a nod to Collingwood as a village and as a settlement,” said Wood.
The ‘wetlands’ were inspired by the Silver Creek wetlands. They will be represented by another play structure (this one green and blue) that features cattails.
Finally there’s ‘discovery beach’ which is a big sandbox with a concrete beach entry that will be inlay with ‘fossils’ the kids can uncover.
Because the entry to the sandbox is a gradual slope, the sand table is wheelchair accessible.
Inside the sandbox are a couple of trickle water features - key tools for muck-making.
“I’m really excited about this space, it’s going to be a fair bit of fun,” said Wood.
Between the youth and tot play spaces will be a shaded social hub with picnic tables and USB charging stations where parents can clearly see both play areas.
There will also be a sensory garden separating the two spots with different elevations allowing people in wheelchairs to interact with the garden as well.
“It’s about texture, colour, wildlife, and other pieces that help stimulate kids’ imaginations and growth,” said Wood.
Off to the west end of the park will be a clearing with two belt swings, two tot swings, a saucer swing, and one accessible chair swing.
A potential third phase not yet scheduled or funded could include a youth living room seating area designed for use by pre-teens and early teens and an adjacent multi-sport game court.
The design and various components of the new EnviroPark were created after several different public sessions that included input from kids, youth, and adults.
Wood created a concept referred to as “modes of play,” which he used to inspire the design of more than just physical, active play spaces. The park includes places for sensory stimulation, quiet play places, physical play, and exploration and creativity.
“I’m so proud of what this is going to be,” said Collver. “It goes beyond making a non-accessible playground accessible, and offers stimulation opportunities for people on the autism spectrum, and quiet places for youth who don’t want to get into the Lord of the Flies fight to the top of the lighthouse … there are all kinds of opportunities for youth to enjoy this playground and for parents to enjoy watching their kids.”
The current structures slated for removal were built in 1993 as part of the town’s effort to rehabilitate the water in the harbour and inspire future generations to be good stewards of water.
Accessibility and safety standards have since changed and the playground structures (mostly wood and concrete) have decayed over the last 30 years.
In 2019, the Town of Collingwood’s Parks, Recreation, and Culture Department started working on developing a new playground facility to replace EnviroPark at Sunset Point Park.
Previously, town staff expected to have the new features complete by Thanksgiving this year, but construction and COVID-related delays have pushed the completion date to May 2022.
The old play structures will stay in place for the rest of the summer to allow those visiting Sunset Point Park to use them for one more year.
