City councillor says plan to close 10 Sudbury playgrounds 'not a done deal'
City staff says closing 10 will provide extra money to fix up 48 in poor condition
In the five years she has lived at Place Hurtubise in New Sudbury, Alicia Raymer has learned how many restrictions exist on her three kids playing.
"We have a restriction on the number of lawn toys we can have. We're not allowed to own sprinklers. We're not allowed to own our swing sets. We're not allowed to own our own trampolines," said Raymer, whose kids are 12, 7 and 16 months.
That's why the small playground with a slide and swing set facing Lasalle Boulevard is so important to her and her neighbours, she said, adding that the parents celebrated last year when the city put in a bench, so they wouldn't have to sit on the grass.
It's also why she was shocked to learn that Greater Sudbury parks staff recommend closing it and nine other parks that are within 400 metres of another municipal playground.
"That is their park. That is their safe zone," said Raymer.
She, like Sudburians in the other affected neighbourhoods from Onaping to Val Caron to Garson, is trying to lobby the city to save their playground, but Raymer says it's tough to get people in Greater Sudbury Housing to speak out when the city is also their landlord.
"The general feeling around here seems to be 'What's the point? We're just going to get bulldozed over anyway,'" she said.
"I'm just tired of being told that my kids don't deserve a high quality of life."
The staff plan on playgrounds is scheduled to be debated by Sudbury city council on April 12.
Three of the 10 on the chopping block are in the New Sudbury ward of councillor Al Sizer, including Place Hurtubise.
Sizer was once a manager in the city parks department and said he has noticed use of playgrounds drop off steadily as the population ages.
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He said he would like to preserve the greenspaces in his ward, but added some may have to be transformed into passive squares of grass without playground equipment or hockey rinks.
"It's just something that I think we have to look at throughout the whole city," said Sizer.
"We just can't keep offering the services we're offering at the current price. I'm not saying it's a done deal, but where it makes sense, it should happen."