Public Input about Playground Upgrades on Wednesday morning August 22, 2012 in John Lawson Park

The following comments were noted at open houses in John Lawson Park on Wednesday August 22 and 25.  You may want to consider these comments when you fill out your own questionnaire.  Are there any ideas you agree or disagree with strongly?  Do you have other ideas?

  1. Mostly preschoolers use this park
  2. Keep the sand play area and the boat and train where they are – they’re fantastic
  3. Add some kind of spray play with a rubber surface
  4. Add a place for making mud pies (separate from dry sand play) with a hand pump for added fun
  5. Really like the idea of a play creek with a weir and rocks on the side More natural elements, rocks, logs, plantings
  6. Consider containments on some of the play edges to slow down run-away tots (people were divided on this)
  7. Rubber surface in active play areas (very popular idea)
  8. Net climbers
  9. Ways to spin, individually and as a group (popular with kids 4+)
  10. Spring toys and spring totters
  11. Rolling slide like at Whistler
  12. Shelter from drizzle and winds for parents and kids
  13. A disc swing/spinning tire
  14. Places to play hide and seek in the bushes but more open so parents can see in
  15. Add a tricycle circuit
  16. Kids would love flowers/gardens and raised beds 
  17. Move the big rocks away from a small area of the beach to create a good place there for play to use beach toys.  This might also make a neat tidal pool in the winter/extreme high tide.
  18. How about a way for kids to make art like a chalk wall or a simple buried and stripped down Volkswagen bug sunk into the ground and painted white as a canvas for kids to paint up with water soluble paint every day. Hose it clean at the end of each day... 
  19. Add a big slide – covered during rainy days
  20. Climbing merry go round like at Granville Island
  21. Climbing walls and nets for kids doing kids play camps in the park– spider net (see playground at Seymour heights
  22. We need an outdoor pool on the north shore or a swimming float in the ocean
  23. Encourage people to bring and leave sand toys at the park
  24. Examples to look at:  New Park on Commercial Drive and Lakeside Park in Nelson
  25. How about chalk art for the park?
  26. Keep the boat and train and small houses on the beach
  27. We get bigger kids at this park too, especially on the weekend when there are big picnics on
  28. We should have more tables for picnicking
  29. Look at examples like the park close to Carsen Graham School for a good spray play park
  30. What about child height interpretive panels with simple words and images on them so young children can learn word associations to help literacy along in fun subtle ways and encourage talk between the child and the caregiver.  Words could also be incorporated in equipment throughout the park.  See Dr. Hertzman’s HELP report regarding the need for a community as a whole to support early (preschool) literacy.  Spark curiosity, questions, talk and reading
  31. Avoid disc swings, they could hurt kids
  32. Make sure there are enough play opportunities here to keep older kids interested (this was voiced several times at the meeting)
  33. See Victoria Park in Vancouver as an example with great equipment and a really nice setting with lots to do
  34. We should have a splash pad
  35. We should have a merry go round with a net on it so kids can spin and feel safe
  36. Combine rocks and nets and boulders with hand grips on them for a neat climbing experience
  37. Consider swings arranged in a hexagonal pattern to save space yet have lots of swings
  38. Put in a BIG slide
  39. Let’s see lots of examples and plans – when can we see layout options for this playground, how can I continue to be involved and see what’s next? 
  40. Really like the green spinner on the panel
  41. We like the monkey bars – add more
  42. More trees to climb in
  43. The train tracks are difficult to cross at 17th if you use a wheel chair
  44. Add balance beams
  45. We like the play creek idea but how to keep kids clean?
  46. We like rubber surfaces
  47. Add interactive play pieces that children can move, and make sounds with etc.
  48. A really high tree fort
  49. I like the idea of better sand area at the beach
  50. Make this a water park with a shallow pool and a real swimming pool with a lifeguard
  51. I want places to hang upside down
  52. I like the big nets and a tree house and a climbing wall
  53. Add tile mosaics for colour – I like community art like the stream of dreams (the fish painted by children that are fastened to the fencing on the wading pool now)
  54. We should have a map of the stars or a map of the playground itself so kids can learn to read maps
  55. Incorporate games in the park
  56. We want a curly tube slide
  57. We should have a seaside theme. Others said west coast, casual, modern, family friendly, marine centric...
  58. Fence in the playground
  59. Add a quality eating area in the park – a cafe
  60. Add more benches in the park
  61. More parking is needed
  62. Add a fountain (like in Horseshoe Bay Park)
  63. Diggers
  64. We liked the climbing igloo
  65. Lots of teeter totters – we like the spring ones shown
  66. Keep the wading pool because it is fenced
  67. Natural wood structures, tunnels and forts
  68. This site is often too windy – needs a wall/barrier on the west side
  69. Add bike racks and more bike access in this area