The Concept:  

We are partnering with the City of Courtenay, and other interested parties and the other Comox Valley Rotary clubs to build a universally accessible playground with some equipment modified for children with disabilities at a site in Courtenay.

What does Universally accessible mean?

Accessible play spaces are inclusive – they welcome children of all abilities to play together. These spaces ensure that children with disabilities don’t miss out on important opportunities for social interaction and physical activity. They also allow parents and caregivers with physical disabilities to be nearby and play with their children.

These playgrounds are designed so that

• Every child can reach the highest play deck
• They have universally accessible pathways and surfacing
• Play structures are configured to support children’s development
• They have cozy spots with activities where everyone can gather

The intention is not to create a park just for disabled children.  The intention is to create a park where disabled and mobility impaired children can interact and play along with able bodied children. The park must be appealing to all.

What disabled modifications are we considering? 

Given the comments of Heather Robertson, the physical therapist for School District 71, we would like to include some sort of wheelchair swing and/or a reclining swing to accommodate children that are more seriously disabled.  This is currently not available anywhere else on the North Island.

Site Location:  

After consultation with the City of Courtenay, a lot sized parcel of land at the south end of the Courtenay Airpark was identified.  The property is located along the Courtenay Airpark walkway, across from the Whistle Stop Pub at the junction of the loop path and the path leading south.  The site has great visibility, is already a well used area, and has great topographical features.  We would need to clear blackberry bush from the area, but trees along the perimeter and water’s edge would remain in place.  The City is currently looking into any fisheries issues with the site.

Site Pros: 

• Accessible
• High Visibility
• Central
• Close to Parking and existing pathways
• Airpark provides interesting surroundings
• Close to the estuary
• Additional space available for future expansion 

Site Cons :  

• Not on a current bus route

Community Need:

In order to determine what need there is in the community for a universally accessible/disabled park, we had discussions Lorraine Aitken of the Child Development Centre and Heather Robertson, physical therapist for School District 71.  We also visited all parks in the Courtenay to determine if any other parks were accessible or could be easily modified to be accessible.  Finally we looked at Statistics Canada Census Data to estimate the population base that would benefit from this type of park.  

Although there are a number of children who have direct physical disabilities, the bigger issue is that many children have caregivers with mobility issues.  Children who have caregivers who are elderly or otherwise unable to negotiate playgrounds with unstable surfaces (such as pea gravel) are not willing to take those children to parks, where if they have a fall, they cannot reach the child.  Able bodied children with mobility-limited caregivers would likely represent a much larger number of universally accessible park users.

Funding

Overall cost is estimated to be $100,000.  City staff is in the midst of compiling a detailed cost analysis.  This would be the actual cash cost if we can get the labour free of charge.  This would include labour for park design, site preparation and some portion of the installation.  We believe we could get good community support for a project of this nature.

City Participation:

The City of Courtenay would be willing to provide the property, guide the process, provide a project manager, match any funding that the community (us) can come up with and be responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the park.  This leaves our community needing to come up with approximately $50,000.

LIKE TO HELP?

Please contact Club President, Wendy Lewis at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it