Old Post Park playground

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Old Post Park is getting a new playground!

The City of Waterloo and neighbourhood partners are working together to replace the playground structure at Old Post Park. The city is designing site works, coordinating procurement and managing the installation of a new playground for the neighbourhood. Community representatives have coordinated fundraising to optimize the value of play equipment that will be installed in the playground. Thank you to all those who contributed! Since the launch of the community fundraising project, about $34,000 has been raised through the GoFundMe page, bottle drive, and independent donations! If you would like to continue following the community website, please visit their community fundraising page.


Thank you for your interest in this project. Originally, our plan was to have the community vote on their preferred playground design in mid-late April, however this step in the project has been delayed until June. Even with this delay, we can confirm that installation remains on track for late summer/early fall 2021. Here is our new timeline for this playground installation:

Public engagement #1

We have now completed the first phase of public engagement, which allowed the neighbourhood to provide feedback on desired play equipment and accessibility needs. Thank you for contributing to this survey. We have posted the results below in the news feed.

Site design and playground design

We are in the process of completing a site design for Old Post Park. In addition, we are coordinating a request for proposal for playground equipment design, manufacturing and installation using feedback from the first public consultation survey.

Public engagement #2

The consultant will provide two playground designs based on feedback received from the survey and the community will be invited to vote on their preferred playground design. We expect this second phase of public engagement to take place in June.

Playground construction

Construction is expected to begin late summer/early fall of 2021. The existing playground will be removed and replaced with new equipment at this time.

Ongoing project communication and information

We encourage you to follow this project to receive updates as things progress. Thank you for your involvement in this project! We look forward to seeing the new playground in action!

Old Post Park is getting a new playground!

The City of Waterloo and neighbourhood partners are working together to replace the playground structure at Old Post Park. The city is designing site works, coordinating procurement and managing the installation of a new playground for the neighbourhood. Community representatives have coordinated fundraising to optimize the value of play equipment that will be installed in the playground. Thank you to all those who contributed! Since the launch of the community fundraising project, about $34,000 has been raised through the GoFundMe page, bottle drive, and independent donations! If you would like to continue following the community website, please visit their community fundraising page.


Thank you for your interest in this project. Originally, our plan was to have the community vote on their preferred playground design in mid-late April, however this step in the project has been delayed until June. Even with this delay, we can confirm that installation remains on track for late summer/early fall 2021. Here is our new timeline for this playground installation:

Public engagement #1

We have now completed the first phase of public engagement, which allowed the neighbourhood to provide feedback on desired play equipment and accessibility needs. Thank you for contributing to this survey. We have posted the results below in the news feed.

Site design and playground design

We are in the process of completing a site design for Old Post Park. In addition, we are coordinating a request for proposal for playground equipment design, manufacturing and installation using feedback from the first public consultation survey.

Public engagement #2

The consultant will provide two playground designs based on feedback received from the survey and the community will be invited to vote on their preferred playground design. We expect this second phase of public engagement to take place in June.

Playground construction

Construction is expected to begin late summer/early fall of 2021. The existing playground will be removed and replaced with new equipment at this time.

Ongoing project communication and information

We encourage you to follow this project to receive updates as things progress. Thank you for your involvement in this project! We look forward to seeing the new playground in action!

  • Results of survey #1

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    01 Mar 2021
    supporting image

    Thank you for contributing to the Old Post Park Playground Survey #1.

    Visitors 269, Contributors 94, Responses 100

    We are thankful for all those who contributed. The information below is a summary of what we heard from the community.


    Preferred playground equipment

    This chart indicates playground equipment specified by survey respondents. Some of the playground equipment types have been grouped together for the purpose of information sharing. Our project manager has retained more detailed notes.

    Type of Playground Equipment Number of Votes Type of Playground Equipment Number of Votes
    Slides 35 Net Climber 6
    Swings 30 Bridge 5
    Climbing Equipment 20 Obstacle Course 5
    Monkey Bars 16 Rope Climber 5
    Rock Wall/Climbing Wall 16 Spring Toy 5
    Spinner 12 Balance Features 4
    Zipline 12 Play Panels - Musical 4
    Play Panels 11 Fire Pole 3
    Sandbox 8 Parent/Tot Swing 2
    Swings - Saucer
    7
    		 Tunnels 2
    Teeter Totter
    7
    		 Quiet Zone 1


    Please note that the existing swings at the playground site will remain, and no additional swings are included in the playground replacement project. Other equipment pieces will be included in a list of preferred playground elements when we issue the request for playground equipment design.


    Playground themes

    According to the survey results, users preferred the following themes:

    • Creative and imaginative playgrounds
    • Colourful playgrounds
    • Playgrounds with natural features
    • Traditional type play equipment


    Playground surface

    Survey respondents generally preferred wood chip or rubber type surfacing, however engineered wood fibre surfacing will be used to meet accessibility standards while preserving budget for playground equipment.

    Accessibility

    While no survey respondents indicated a need for enhanced accessibility, respondents did show significant interest in an accessible playground design.

    To meet current design guidelines the playground area will be designed to include an accessible ramp into the playground area. The playground equipment will be designed to meet CSA-Z106-20 guidelines and will include a variety of accessible features as recommended by the guideline.

    Additional playground design notes

    The following themes emerged from survey responses regarding the playground:

    • The playground should cater to users of varying ages.
    • Residents would like to see additional benches, and picnic tables near the playground area.
    • The playground area needs more shade.
    • There is interest in planting additional shade trees, particularly native trees.

    The playground will be designed to fulfill these needs while reflecting project budget.

    Additional survey data

    In addition to information collected about the playground design, a number of other requests were made to improve Old Post Park playground. These included:

    • An enhanced waste system
    • Additional pathway infrastructure
    • A shade structure
    • Sports facilities
    • Dog park amenities
    • A skateboard park
    • A spray pad
    • Fitness equipment
    • A community garden
    • Additional winter amenities


    While these amenities fall outside of the scope of this project, city staff will explore the opportunity to include amenities like these in Waterloo parks through the long term implementation of the parkland strategy and future capital parks projects. We urge you to explore parks and projects across the city that include listed features, such as the Albert McCormick Community Centre skate park and splash pad project. Should community members like to implement a shared vegetable garden, we encourage you to explore our Community Garden Toolkit to determine viability of this feature for your community.