New inclusive playground coming for Charlottetown

The city of Charlottetown will soon be home to the one of the largest accessible playgrounds in P.E.I.

The park isa gift from Canadian TireJumpstartCharitiesas part of the charity'sinclusive playground project initiative. Charlottetown is one of the first of four communities to receive support this year, and the plan is to deliver a playground in every province and territory over the next fiveyears.

"It's going to be really a tremendous opportunity to create a facility in our city that's going to be able to serve all citizens," Mayor Clifford Lee said.

"It's about inclusively, and I'm certainly honoured that Charlottetown has been chosen as one of the few cities in the country to receive this facility."

The playground will go up in Victoria Park, next to the existing playground equipment on the waterfront.

"Given that Victoria Park is Charlottetown's most visited park and the playground will sit next to an accessible pool with accessible amenities close to transit, it is a great start to build on Jumpstart's goal of making a space where children of all abilities can enjoy sport and play together," said Scott Fraser, president of Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities.

The playground is still in the design phase but will be 9,000 square feet, and Jumpstart estimates it to cost close to $1 million. The city does not have to contribute any money, but had to give the land. A video made by Jumpstartshows the tentative plan from many angles.

"As we are currently in the planning stage, we'll be in a better position to determine final value closer to project completion. We are incredibly proud to work with the City to bring the largest universally accessible playground to Charlottetown," Fraser said.

That money is coming from Jumpstart's Play Finds A Way movement, a five-year, $50 million fundraising commitment from Canadian Tire Corporation that focuses funding efforts toward accessible playgrounds, infrastructure and programming.

The groundbreaking for Charlottetown is planned for this June, with an opening date expected in August.

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