City would benefit from more inclusive playgrounds, says advocate

As Edmonton city council gets ready to set its next four-year budget, playground reviewer Jill Footz has a wish.

"It would be great to get a truly inclusive playground built on the south side of the city," the founder of Edmonton Playgrounds told Taproot.

Edmonton has two inclusive playgrounds, but they're both on the north side: Clareview Recreation Centre Playground at 3704 139 Avenue NW and Kensington School Playground at 13410 119 Street NW. Both are designed not only to be accessible to children who use wheelchairs or walkers, but to include all children, regardless of their abilities.

The Clareview playground, built as part of Canadian Tire's Jumpstart Inclusive Play Project, has wide ramps, rubber surfaces, and interactive charts in American Sign Language and braille. There are bucket-seat swings with harnesses, as well as a roller slide that is friendly to children with cochlear implants and a quiet zone where kids can take a break without leaving the playground. Plus there are picnic tables, benches, and sheltered tables for caregivers.

"Offering that access to everyone is the gold standard," Footz said.

City councillors seem interested in exploring the possibilities. On June 30, executive committee unanimously passed a motion from Coun. Keren Tang directing city administration to prepare a report showing the time and cost of integrating an inclusive playground strategy within existing city policies and procedures. The report is due on Oct. 21.

"It is true, some of those (inclusive playground) materials are more costly," said Tang, whose Ward Karhiio is in south Edmonton. "If this means less playgrounds per year but creating something that more people can be included in, then it's worth the strategy and development."

Administration recognizes the need, but as Tang acknowledged, inclusive elements cost money.

"I think we need to be looking at inclusive playgrounds across the city," Suzanne Young, the city's director of open spaces planning and design, told Taproot before Tang introduced her motion. "(B)ut at the end of the day, we have a really constrained budget … so, unfortunately, it's going to be pretty narrow in terms of what we can deliver."

The city is currently renewing eight parks through its Playground Renewal Program. These playground renewals may include increasing accessibility, replacing or adding play equipment, and adding new pathways. With construction complete in both Allin Park and Tipton Park, the city estimates that the remaining six playgrounds will be finished by fall.

Playground renewal used to be funded by communities with matching grants from the city, but now it's done within the city's budget as part of the Community Parks Framework. The new system is more equitable, as renewing a playground no longer relies on the affluence and organizational capacity of a neighbourhood, but it does mean competing with all of the other priorities in the budget.

Tang's motion also directs Mayor Andrew Knack to advocate to the Canadian Standards Association for changes to playground standards to improve accessibility and inclusivity, incorporating input and recommendations from the city's Accessibility Advisory Committee.

Whereas accessibility considers whether the playground can be reached, inclusivity focuses on ensuring everyone can play. That means going "beyond the ramp," said Footz.

For example, Edmonton considers both poured-in-place rubber and engineered wood fibre as accessible. But Footz said these standards need to be updated. Although engineered wood fibre was considered accessible decades ago, Footz said modern wheelchairs and walkers aren't compatible with it. Rubber poured-in-place surfacing allows children and caregivers to access all parts of the playground, which is the "key to inclusion," Footz said.

"I will never consider a playground that has engineered wood fibre to be accessible," she said.

This story is based on a larger conversation with Jill Footz and Suzanne Young on the June 17 edition of Taproot Exchange, a members-only livestream conversation that goes deep on issues of interest to Edmontonians. Become a Taproot member for access to future livestreams, as well as recordings and transcripts.