Toronto June Callwood Park | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto | gh3

[Ayan]

Ahh come on, it just a stones throw away from Coronation Park on the other side of the street...

I was commenting about the general trend in downtown Toronto that favours synthetic materials over grass for parks. Think about Barbara Hall Park or the park behind the College Park buildings. Besides, the co-existence of grass surfaces and synthetic surfaces could change in the future. Take bottled water for example. We can get drinking water through our taps - our taxes fund it. Yet more and more people are increasingly consuming bottled water, paying again for something they have already paid for (even though studies have demonstrated that the benefits of bottled water are more perceived than real).

 

[Ayan]

There is nothing wrong with synthetic play surfaces, and many parents would kill to have synthetic play surfaces in the city since most of our parks are littered with dog feces and geese droppings. Mississauga has been using synthetic surfaces at splash pads for decades and has never had any issues in terms of maintenance or health and safety.

Just because something is new or different does not mean it’s innovative by default.

http://www.citylimits.org/conversations/112/a-risky-play

http://awalkintheparknyc.blogspot.ca/2012/06/heat-advisory-playground-and-artificial.html

We should evaluate a new product using a more comprehensive and holistic approach. In our current system, decisions are often based solely on monetary factors (i.e., something cheaper is favoured). The power and influence of PR/marketing and herd mentality exacerbate this phenomenon. We need to consider non-monetary factors when making decisions. When deciding on a new product, we should ask how it would affect us and the environment in the long run and how it may interact with other materials already in existence.

Just because something is legal and/or widely used does not mean it is safe. Look up DDT, asbestos, flame retardants, BPA, perc, alcohol…

 

[Ayan]

I think Tuscani was trying to say that these surfaces will be far easier to maintain than sand, gravel or grass - which can't be easily purged of excrement.

Compared to grass surfaces, synthetic surfaces are less effective in washing out and cleaning itself from feces and harmful bacteria without human maintenance.

 

[Ayan]

Perhaps this park has been funded by Pepto Bismol?

Or perhaps the “left-wing pinkos†are still active in City Hall !

 

[interchange42]

Wait a sec, what stops a goose from pooping on pink rubber? Or all the crap that falls out of trees? Will somebody be vacuuming and sanitizing?

Geese hang out where they can stand around eating grass. It's easiest for them in areas that get mowed, and one of the reasons that Toronto parks has let a fair percentage of the Humber Valley parks near where I live go wild again. Geese don't hang out where there's no grass to eat, so you won't have to worry about them pooping up June Callwood Park.

42

 

[Tuscani01]

Just because something is new or different does not mean it’s innovative by default.

http://www.citylimits.org/conversations/112/a-risky-play

http://awalkintheparknyc.blogspot.ca/2012/06/heat-advisory-playground-and-artificial.html

We should evaluate a new product using a more comprehensive and holistic approach. In our current system, decisions are often based solely on monetary factors (i.e., something cheaper is favoured). The power and influence of PR/marketing and herd mentality exacerbate this phenomenon. We need to consider non-monetary factors when making decisions. When deciding on a new product, we should ask how it would affect us and the environment in the long run and how it may interact with other materials already in existence.

Just because something is legal and/or widely used does not mean it is safe. Look up DDT, asbestos, flame retardants, BPA, perc, alcohol…

Note the instructions in the link you provided:

1. Avoid playgrounds with black safety surfacing, unless they have complete shade coverage.

This park does not have black safety surfacing, and will mostly be covered in shade. I have yet to hear of a single child be burned on any of the playgrounds that currently use these surfaces in Ontario. This isn't the first time these surfaces have been used here, so there is nothing new about it. There are companies that have been installing these for decades now.

 

[maestro]

Perhaps this park has been funded by Pepto Bismol?

I think pink makes a really good colour for a park named after June Callwood.

 

[Tewder]

Geese hang out where they can stand around eating grass. It's easiest for them in areas that get mowed, and one of the reasons that Toronto parks has let a fair percentage of the Humber Valley parks near where I live go wild again. Geese don't hang out where there's no grass to eat, so you won't have to worry about them pooping up June Callwood Park.

42

Well that is good, though i still feel it's going to be a mess before long.

 

[Ayan]

Note the instructions in the link you provided:

1. Avoid playgrounds with black safety surfacing, unless they have complete shade coverage.

This park does not have black safety surfacing, and will mostly be covered in shade. I have yet to hear of a single child be burned on any of the playgrounds that currently use these surfaces in Ontario. This isn't the first time these surfaces have been used here, so there is nothing new about it. There are companies that have been installing these for decades now.

Synthetic surfaces retain heat and don’t release it out in the air unlike grass surfaces, which is why they can become extremely hot. This can happen even without black safety surfacing. Besides, there are other health, safety and environmental concerns, as noted in the links I posted before as well as the one below.

http://center4research.org/child-te...ildren-at-play-on-potentially-toxic-surfaces/

Ideally we should not use a new product when there’s no conclusive evidence about its safety. However, that is not always the case in reality because of the factors I mentioned before. For example, perc has been used by the majority of dry-cleaning operations in Canada for many years. But perc is banned in Sweden and highly regulated in Germany and Norway due to its potential harmful impacts on humans and the environment. France and California have introduced phased banning of perc. According to your specious arguments, perc is safe!

 

[Tewder]

Are we really arguing that synthetic is better??

 

[junior43]

Note the instructions in the link you provided:

1. Avoid playgrounds with black safety surfacing, unless they have complete shade coverage.

This park does not have black safety surfacing, and will mostly be covered in shade. I have yet to hear of a single child be burned on any of the playgrounds that currently use these surfaces in Ontario. This isn't the first time these surfaces have been used here, so there is nothing new about it. There are companies that have been installing these for decades now.

Go back and take a look at IC42's pics/post (#188) There is very little shade in this park. In around 10 years or more, I'd agree with you. But for the next 10 years until these saplings mature and fill out, this park is going to be HOT.

This park isn't my cup of tea (I'm more a fan of traditional parks) but I think this will become a great place. It just needs the trees to fill out to really come into it's own.

Not sure how costly it is (vs. saplings), but this is an example of where they should have used bigger, more mature tress to help it out some. Even a couple just to kick start some spots.

 

[maestro]

Tetrachloroethylene is a poor example as it has been a toxic substance in Ontario for at least a decade or two and is highly regulated with strong fines to anyone not following procedure.

A better example would be pressured treated lumber with arsenic that could be found in just about any play area. Grass particularly the dirt it grows in can be an incubator for some of the nastiest bacteria out there. Hundreds likely die every year from bad dirt.

Pretty sure the failure rate increases the more mature the tree that is being transplanted.

 

[Ayan]

Tetrachloroethylene is a poor example as it has been a toxic substance in Ontario for at least a decade or two and is highly regulated with strong fines to anyone not following procedure.

Your statement is misleading because current regulations are meant to reduce the release of perc into the natural environment. The vast majority of dry-cleaning operations in Canada (including those in Ontario) continues to use perc.

Hypothetically speaking, even if we had banned the use of perc in the past, it still would have supported my argument that just because something is/was legal and/or widely used for a long time does/did not mean it is/was safe.

 

[DSC]

October 1, 2014

Opening of new Toronto park to honour June Callwood

City of Toronto officials and staff, in partnership with the Garden Club of Toronto, will join June Callwood's family and the Fort York community to celebrate the opening of June Callwood Park. The opening celebration will include speeches, a ribbon-cutting ceremony and performances by the local art group, Shadowlands.

Date: Saturday, October 4
Time: 7 to 8 p.m., remarks: 7:15 p.m.
Location: 636 Fleet St. (south of Fort York Boulevard)
Note: Participants are encouraged to use public transit 511 Bathurst street car south to Remembrance Drive stop. Parking is limited and there will be a number of street closures and restrictions related to the Nuit Blanche festival. More information is available at http://bit.ly/navTO.

The new 0.4-hectare park honours June Callwood's life as a Canadian journalist, author, advocate and activist through its design and art installation. The park's design was the result of an international design competition which included extensive public consultation led by Parks, Forestry and Recreation.

The firm gh3 won the competition. The $2.6-million park includes a reflecting pool, lighting, granite, hedge maze, rubberized surfacing, and granite mulch. The park design uses words from one of June Callwood's final interviews before her death. Her comment, “I believe in kindness” is a physically mapped voiceprint that winds through the park, making it a spectacular view from the upper floors of the bordering buildings.

The gardens were planted by the Garden Club of Toronto. The park includes a public art installation – a sound work entitled OKTA by the artist team of Stephen Bates and Douglas Moffat of Montreal, selected through a two-stage, open competition in 2009.

 

[taal]

Did anyone get a picture of the reflecting pool yet ?