Spray pad soon to be under construction
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This article was published 25/05/2022 (370 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
With the recent award of the construction contract, Whyte Ridge Community Centre just passed another exciting milestone on the road to receiving Winnipeg’s 24th spray pad, providing a fun place for kids to play on a hot sunny day.
Decisions regarding funding allocation were made by all three levels of government several months ago and include $375,000 from the PrairiesCan and the Canada Community Revitalization fund, $400,000 from the Canada Community Building fund, and $225,000 from the City of Winnipeg. Since last year, Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West), and MP Terry Duguid (Winnipeg South) have played key roles in advocating for bringing a spray pad to young families in this part of Winnipeg, with more recent support from new Fort Whyte MLA Obby Khan.
For those not familiar, spray pads are basically areas with non-slip or safety surfaces with various nozzles and colourful, water-based toys that produce sprays, mists, showers or streams of water. They differ from traditional wading pools, which don’t have all the toys, must be supervised due to standing water, and have reduced accessibility and hours of service each season.
Planning and design of the WRCC splash pad has been under way for several months, and WRCC directors have been working with a landscape architect and various city departments to provide input into the process. Initial discussions focused on a location which addressed aspects such as visibility, drainage, distance to water and electrical services, noise and distance to residences, parking and vehicle safety. The location needed to be close to the building. A site to the north was less visible and water and electrical servicing would be more expensive. A site to the southwest of the building was close to residents on Cloverwood Road and would require reconfiguring the parking lot. The only logical place was the southeast corner of the property, between the east hockey pen and basketball court. Unfortunately, this was the target location for the proposed gymnasium, but rising costs have reduced its viability, and more modest building expansions are now being explored.
The wheelchair-accessible splash pad will be approximately 280 square-metres, with the active pad area surrounded by new shade trees, three benches and four picnic tables with shade structures. The spray pad toys come with names such as Wiggly, Magnif-eye, Misty Mountain and Tulip, and look like they’ll provide lots of enjoyment for youngsters. In addition to a toddler area, there’ll be family and teen areas, too.
Construction will probably start in July, but it likely won’t be ready for use until next year. Regardless, it’s another big step forward for the WRCC board of directors, which is still working to develop the facility and programming so that WRCC is always a place for families to come together year-round to enjoy sports and recreation activities.
Nick Barnes
Whyte Ridge community correspondent
Nick Barnes is a community correspondent for Whyte Ridge.