Top play parks for kids in York Region have soft surfaces, dinosaur bones

We take look at some of the best play parks across York Region

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 20, 2015
By Simone Joseph

For some parents, the most important part of a playground lies beneath their child’s feet.

Richmond Hill resident Erin Weinroth enjoys bringing her children to Oak Ridges’ Russell Tilt Park, in part, because it has a soft play surface rather than wood chips or pavement.

“If they fall, they are not going to get as hurt,” she says.

Woodbridge’s Sonoma Heights Park appeals to Stephanie Mora.

“It has soft surfaces, so I don’t have to clean a child full of sand,” she says of the park at 100 Sunset Ridge.

Netaly Brand dislikes the ground at her neighbourhood playground in Thornhill.

“The ground is dirty, no one does upkeep,” she says.

Brand will not allow her 11-month-old son to crawl around at the York Hill District Park (in the Bathurst Street and Clark Avenue area) because it is “mucky”, filled with leaves and rocks, she says. But she does allow her son to crawl in newer playgrounds made of soft materials, such as recycled tires.

Her family often enjoys Saturday afternoon trips to the North Thornhill Community Centre’s park.

“The ground is soft for falls, the splash pad is large and has places for crawlers with smaller sprouts of water and bigger areas for bigger kids,” she says.

Parks that cater to multiple ages are often a hit with parents. Brand finds it easier to entertain and look after her sons, age three and 11 months, at the North Thornhill Community Centre’s park, rather than at York Hill District Park.

Her local park has play equipment for two different ages spaced too far apart, she says.

“If you have children of two different ages, you will have to divide and conquer,” Brand says.

She signed a petition calling for changes to her local playground and it was emailed to Thornhill Councillor Alan Shefman.

Changes to the playground are in the works, according to Shefman. The City of Vaughan plans to redevelop York Hill District Park’s playground and basketball court areas. Vaughan held a community information open house to discuss the plan in March. A new playground will be installed as a first step in the park’s renewal, Shefman says.

Themes are one trend jazzing up some new, local parks.

Richmond Hill’s Rocking Horse Ranch opened June 10 and was designed using a horseback riding theme.

The Snakes and Ladders Park (north of 19th Avenue and west of Bayview Avenue in Richmond Hill) will include a life-size and tabletop Snake & Ladders game board.

Richmond Hill’s Rouge Crest Park, which opens Aug. 4, has a nature theme. The park has a spiral hill, which leads visitors up one path and down the other, moving them through drifts of native wildflowers. The park is at 147 Rothbury Rd., which is west of Yonge Street and south of Gamble Road.

In Newmarket, home to 52 playgrounds and 46 kilometres of trails, themed parks are also taking shape.

Chris Kalimootoo, director of public works in Newmarket, has seen a change in today’s parks.

“They are different, exciting, more creative versus 10 or 20 years ago,” Kalimootoo says. Back then, you couldn’t tell one park’s swing from another.

Newmarket is looking at introducing play equipment with a chicken farm theme in the Bathurst Street and Davis Drive area next year.

In addition to themed parks, accessible parks are becoming more prevalent.

Kalimootoo points to the accessible All Our Kids Play Park in Newmarket, which includes fitness equipment and buried dinosaur bones.

Darriel Broughton enjoys spending time with his son at a playground at Keswick’s R.L. Graham Public School that is accessible for children with disabilities.

Its design makes it easier for smaller kids to climb up the slides, a feature enjoyed by his two-year-old son, who does not have special needs, but loves visiting the park on an almost daily basis.

But what about the price tag? How much would it cost for a great park to be built in your neighbourhood?

It is difficult to say, according to Kalimootoo. There are so many variables, including: the type of equipment you want, the type and amount of surface area you have and want (i.e. woodchips or rubber) and which features you want to add such as benches or trees. Cost varies and there is a big range depending on whether you want a park or parkette.

Developing a park starts at about $30,000, Kalimootoo says.

But one aspect of playgrounds will never change - they can be enjoyed by all ages.

Thornhill resident Nathan Mazer, 9, recommends North Thornhill Community Centre’s park.

“It’s awesome, really fun,” he says. “When I was a little kid, I used to come almost every time.”

He and his mother, Shirley, have only one complaint - the splash pad’s water is too cold.

Thornhill resident Lexus Deschamps proves that parks can be enjoyed by children of all ages. Lexus, 16, still loves visiting playgrounds, especially when she is with her two younger brothers and sister.

“It’s magical,” she says.

“Every time I go to a park, I feel like I am five again.”