Grande Prairie could see a new accessible playground sooner rather than later after city council’s Operational Services Committee recommended the council direct administration to finalize a Gift Agreement with Canadian Tire Jumpstart for the new playground.
This comes after representatives from Jumpstart and Canadian Tire approached city council to propose funding a fully accessible Jumpstart Playground at Lion’s Park.
The project carries a significant price tag; however, Jumpstart will contribute $950K, while the city will contribute a total of $211K in funding to support the project.
According to city administration, collaborative efforts with Jumpstart contributed to the site’s selection as Lion’s Park scored the highest and aligned the best with Jumpstart’s criteria. During their meeting, committee members added that the current playground is 19 years old, and is due for replacement already.
Additionally, during their 2025 budget deliberations, council approved $300K in capital funding for playground and amenity replacements. Of this, $155K will go towards site preparation such as the removal of the existing playground equipment, and a further $56K will go towards renovating the on-site washroom for accessibility.
The playground will be known as “Jumpstart Inclusive Playground” for the duration of its expected usable life of approximately 20 years. The city says the name acknowledges the significant contribution of Jumpstart in funding the project.
Council is expected to discuss the matter once more during their next Monday night meeting on January 27th.
