Kirby's Beach Park Inclusive Playground

The Town of Bracebridge is undertaking a project to construct a new inclusive playground at Kirby’s Beach Park.

An inclusive playground allows children of all abilities to play together. The new playground will encourage a high level of inclusive play that focuses on:

1. Physical Accessibility;
2. Age and Developmental Appropriateness; and
3. Sensory-Rich Stimulating Activities.

Over the past few years, the Town's Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) completed several accessibility upgrades at Kirby's Beach Park. In 2016, improvements included: installation of two accessible picnic tables with accessible pathways, installation of a mobility mat (Mobi-Mat) that allows wheelchairs to roll right into the water and the installation of signage identifying accessible parking spaces. In 2017, improvements included: retrofitting the existing washroom facilities to create a fully-accessible universal washroom and the installation of accessible pathways. Most recently, in 2018, pathways were coated with asphalt to provide a smooth accessible surface.

The AAC determined that the final component to deem Kirby's Beach Park as fully-accessible would be to upgrade the playground to be fully accessible for everyone to enjoy together.

Since this project began Town Staff have completed several forms of public consultation with the residents of Bracebridge, community organizations and the AAC. This consultation provided the public with an opportunity to provide feedback on what type of play elements they would want to see in the new playground. Staff have evaluated the community feedback and have incorporated these elements into the request for proposal.