The City of Swift Current has been recognized for its exceptional efforts in the design and construction of the Plewis Automotive Group Inclusive Park.
Presented with the Saskatchewan Municipal Award for the Top Urban Municipal Initiative, the Inclusive Park was recognized for its incorporation of the seven universal principles of play and its truly inclusive design.
Nicole Spenst, general manager of community services for the City of Swift Current, was honoured along with the rest of the City by the award.
"This facility is something we are extremely proud of," said Spenst. "It has had such a huge uptake from the community with such positive reinforcement and acknowledgment about how the project was created by the community and has been supported by the community."
The Inclusive Park cost an initial $1.2 million dollars to design and construct. It has since received a few updates and changes, bringing the cost closer to $1.3 million.
On opening day, there were 500 children who made us of the Inclusive Park. They made use of communication boards, double-wide ramps, wheelchair glider, braille panels, interactive musical elements and accessible bathrooms.
"Those were all huge contributing factors to one of the reasons why we were successful," said Spenst. "Lots of times in a smaller community like ours, we're maybe not necessarily seen as on the cutting edge. So I think that it's really incredible to see that our peers in the province looked at us and saw that yes, communities like these can build an inclusive park if you take the time to plan and look at what the true needs are in your community."
A big draw for many families who have the need for them is the accessible washrooms. These facilities have adult changing tables, which Spenst believes may be the only washrooms to contain such amenities in southwest Saskatchewan. Sadly, the washrooms now close at 4:30 p.m. each day.
"Unfortunately, vandalism is something that we see in our community and something we wish we could better deter," said Spenst.
Roughly a week before the SUMA convention and the award presentation, multiple elements of the Inclusive Park were damaged by vandals. The City is currently working with the RCMP on the issue and has already set about repairing the damage.
"We're working with the RCMP on ways that we can help reduce vandalism, or work with those individuals who felt they had to vandalize the park," said Spenst.
To this day, the Inclusive Park receives more use than almost every other space. Spenst estimates that she has never seen any fewer than 20 children at play whenever she has driven by.
"I think that shows you how much of a need there was in our community," said Spenst. "We've also had feedback from agencies across the southwest to bring their community members to utilize the Inclusive Park just because it's truly a place where everyone can feel special and have the opportunity to play."