Parents upset by disappearing playground

By Steph Crosier

BELLEVILLE, ON (04/08/11) Cascade Park once filled with kids and a playground is left with a large brown patch and four swings. Photo by Steph Crosier

This past spring Karolyn Camilleri and other residents of Tracy Park area in Belleville were shocked to see their beloved playground go.

The neighbourhood surrounding the west-end lost a popular playground that had been there since the seventies.  The city replaced part of the playground with four swings then took the rest down.

Now residents are banding together to raise money for a new playground.

“They took out the baby playground and put in four swings,” said Camilleri. “We all thought awesome! We’re going to have four swings and the other playground for the kids. It’ll be great.”

But then the city came in and took out the other play area.

“Our playground inspector on staff was saying that it was unsafe,” said Larry Glover, manager of parks and open space for the City of Belleville. “We actually brought in someone from the outside just to verify that. The playground had to be removed. No two ways around it.”

“The thing is that they gave us absolutely no notice. No warning, nothing,” said Camilleri. “We’re in an area with four complexes around us and there’s nothing. We have four swings for probably well over 100 children.”

Glover said that he did tell people in the neighbourhood that the playground was going to go. He said that people in the community actually wanted the playground out of the park.

“Actually I think most of the reaction in the community was ‘please take it out,’” said Glover. He talked to mothers and fathers in the park and said that they were pleased the playground was being removed. “They were concerned about it as well. That is the general impression that I got.”

Camerilli said that if they had received notice of the playground’s removal, she would have set up a committee to fundraise for a new one. But with no notice and 100 bored kids, Camerilli took matters into her own hands.

Camerilli’s sister discovered a contest put on by Schneider’s Country Naturals on Facebook.  The contest is to win through votes $100,000 or one of four secondary prizes of $10,000. Camerilli submitted photos and a description of what happened.  Currently the entry “Playground for the Kids,” submitted by Camilleri, is in the top four.

Another group working to create a committee to fundraise for the same new playground is the Hastings Condominium Corporation No.4.

“We’ve got all these kids running around with no safe place to play other than a big empty field which they just don’t naturally gravitate to,” said Gina Brak, secretary for the corporation. “We’ve been trying to find a way, because the city says it is not in their budget to replace it.”

Brak said that currently there are no plans, short or long term, to replace the equipment. When Glover was walking around the park he told parents up front that the city did not have the funds to replace it.

Camerilli said she was told by the city that if the community fundraises half the costs that they would put up the other half.

“The East Hill Park playground was just completed in June,” said Glover. “50% of the funding came from the city, 50% was community fundraising.”

Camerilli and Brak both say the area is a low-income community that cannot afford to fundraise.

“Our condominium complex has been distributing flyers and trying to get some community interest up there to see what we can do to get something started as far as rebuilding the park,” said Brak.

Glover also said that he could work with a committee to set up a playground and find donors from around the city.

“I know all the major manufacturers,” said Glover. “We can go through what they are thinking of in terms of equipment, what would excite them and their kids in terms of equipment. We can help them with possible donors as well. The city will actually set up an account too, a trust account for all fundraising. If they go that route official tax receipts can be issues as well.”

The city also recommended to Camerilli and Brak that there are other parks in the area.  Glover said that Parkdale Park is an area that the kids can go and play but Camerilli says Parkdale is across the busy four-lane road that is Sydney St.

“People speed around here,” said Camerilli. “I don’t want my kids crossing that road, I don’t want anybody’s kids crossing that road.”

Camerilli said that because there are only four swings for so many kids that problems have arisen. Problems, such as, big kids shoving little kids off the swings.

“When kids have nothing constructive to do, they find unconstructive things to do,” said Brak.

“It’s not that we want it,” said Camerilli. “It’s that we actually need it.”