Park gets new playground and safety upgrades in Mississauga

A revamped playground with new equipment and a safer ground surface officially reopens this weekend in Mississauga’s north end.

Adventure Playland at Lake Aquitaine will be the site of a slate of reopening activities planned for this coming Sunday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Located at Lake Aquitaine Park in the heart of Meadowvale just east of Meadowvale Town Centre, the adventure-themed kids’ playground offers both new equipment and a safer play area, City of Mississauga officials say.

Ward 9 Coun. Martin Reid said earlier the new rubber ground surface will improve safety for playground users.

In his latest email newsletter to the community, Reid said he’ll be among those on hand for the July 6 reopening that will include fun, games, special exhibitors, giveaways and free ice cream at 11 a.m. while supply lasts.

“Enjoy the new playground, play fun games and win cool Ward 9 swag,” the councillor said.

Those planning on driving to the event are asked to park on Montevideo Road and Barrisdale Drive, and avoid parking at the nearby Meadowvale Community Centre.

Special parking accommodations have been arranged to allow people to park on those streets during the official reopening event on Sunday. Enforcement officers will only issue tickets if parked cars are blocking driveways or breaking other rules.

Prohibited parking relief will be permitted on both sides of Montevideo Road between Battleford Road and Aquitaine Avenue, including both sides of Barrisdale Drive (as shown in photo below in green).

Area outlined in green shows where parking will be allowed on Sunday, July 6 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Similar work has been or is being completed at dozens of other public playgrounds across Mississauga, city officials said earlier this year.

Through its Playground Program, “the city is improving accessibility in community playgrounds with changes that include rubber surfacing, accessible swing sets, ground-level play components and paved access routes,” city officials said in an earlier online project update.

“We are committed to ongoing monitoring of existing playgrounds and continual research of the playground industry to establish best practices for accessibility. Minor accessibility improvements to existing playgrounds can be made on request … We hope these play features will let more children have fun and memorable playground experiences in our public parks.”

The adventure playground at Lake Aquitaine Park has received a makeover that makes it more fun and safer for kids. (Photo: City of Mississauga)

So far, officials say, the city has installed more accessible universal swing seats at about 106 out of 263 playgrounds.

Currently, there are six barrier-free playgrounds with rubber surfacing in the city:

Additionally, transfer platforms, which allow for safe access to various play area levels, and a variety of ground-level play experiences are provided in community parks.

“Ramp systems allow for children using wheelchairs access to elevated play structure decks. These are only available in some destination parks due to space requirements or limited play opportunities,” the city said in its online project update.

For life cycle replacement, the city added, it ranks and prioritizes playgrounds by structural condition and other factors, “with a life span of typically 20-25 years before a playground is replaced.”