Park Playground Design Standards

Start: November 2023

End: Fall 2024

Last Updated: June 20, 2024

Project Description:

The “Let’s Play, Courtenay!” project will create new playground design standards for City playgrounds. These are a set of steps the City will follow to make sure Courtenay’s playgrounds are designed and upgraded to best meet the needs of our community.

Project Status:

The first phase of the Let’s Play, Courtenay! project engagement was completed earlier this year. Public engagement for this project included an online survey, several in-person children's and youth focused workshops and an online interest group workshop. Results of the public engagement and emerging directions were presented to Council at the March 13, 2024 Council Meeting.

We are now in Phase 2: Public engagement to review the draft Park Playground Standards Document. The draft document can be reviewed by clicking on the picture or the link below:

Draft Park Playground Standards [PDF - 37 MB]

Take the survey from June 20 to July 12, 2024:

Provide your feedback on the draft guidelines by filling out the short questionnaire. An optional question is also included to inform the Woodcote Park Playground Replacement Project. Access the survey by clicking on the following link: Draft Park Playground Design Standards Survey

The Park Playground Design Standards are based on the following nine areas of focus:

To access the Park Playground Design Standards Overview Table, click on this link: Playground Design Standards Overview Table [PDF - 1 MB]

Next Steps:

After considering the input from the survey, the consultant will be providing a final draft of the Playground Design Standards.
Staff will present the final draft of the Park Playground Design Standards this Summer 2024
Continued updates and information on upcoming playgrounds projects will be through this project webpage: www.courtenay.ca/letsplay
We’re looking forward to implementing our new standards this fall with replacement of the playground at Woodcote Park and a new playground addition at Brookfield Park. You can email your feedback on these replacements to rcs@courtenay.ca
Check this project website for status updates on future playground replacement or addition projects.

The final Playground Design Standards will support capital planning efforts by identifying guiding principles and best practices for future playground improvements that diversify play experiences and best meet the needs of the community. Once complete, the new standards will be used by planners, designers, and builders when building new playgrounds or upgrading existing playgrounds. The new design standards will be put to use immediately, as the City of Courtenay has allocated an extra $1 million in grant funding from the Province of BC Growing Communities Fund for Courtenay playgrounds over the next two years.

Planning for specific playgrounds across the city will happen over time as they are upgraded or developed. The number of playgrounds installed or upgraded each year is based on the City’s annual budget.

The Let’s Play, Courtenay! project builds on work completed for other City plans that identified opportunities for improvements to parks and playgrounds, including the Official Community Plan completed in 2022, and the Parks and Recreation Master Plan completed in 2019. In addition to these strategic documents, the following projects goals have been developed through a review of best practices: