City of Greater Sudbury to study costs of updating playgrounds

Sudbury city councilwants to knowhow much it would cost to update playgrounds.

The request for a staff report came from councillor Robert Kirwan. He represents the densely-populated neighbourhood of Ryan Heights, which is asking the city for a new playground.

"When you go to other subdivisions, like the one in Dominion Park out in Hanmer, you've got such a wide range of activities for the entire family," Kirwan said.

"Then when you go to other places, like Ryan Heights, you've got virtually nothing other than a couple of swings and a small little structure."

Sudbury has 190 playgrounds

The citystaff's report would prioritize and list the problemswith thecity's 190 playgrounds, and present funding options for upgrades.

The city has ashortage of about$6 million for the needs of playgrounds and the repairs to some 50 field houses, according to general manager of citizen and leisure services, Ron Henderson.

"It's fair to say that many of our playground structures are outdated and certainly not [like] some of the more modern structures you'll see in some of our newer facilities, like James Jerome and Howard Armstrong," he said.

Henderson addedall of the city's playgrounds are regularly inspected to make sure they're safe.

The report on playgrounds is expected this fall.