Staff Report: Chancellor Park Playground Equipment Award

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE REPORT

TO: Committee of the Whole FROM: Ivan Leung, P.Eng, Director of Engineering DATE: December 16, 2025 MEETING DATE: January 13, 2026

CHANCELLOR PARK PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT AWARD

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the Committee recommend to Council the playground equipment purchase and installation indicative of Option #1 per the Committee of the Whole staff report titled “Chancellor Park Playground Equipment Award”, to be awarded to Habitat Systems Inc. in the amount of $267,025 net of GST;

AND THAT this project be included in the 2026-2030 Financial Plan as a 2026 project with a total project budget of $337,025, net of GST.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

Option #2: THAT the Committee recommend to Council to approve the other options identified in the Committee of the Whole staff report titled “Chancellor Park Playground Design and Award”;

AND THAT the Financial Plan be amended accordingly.

PURPOSE:

In accordance with previous staff reporting regarding the public engagement results, staff’s next steps were to present the playground area concept to Council for approval to proceed.

The purpose of this report is to seek a recommendation to Council regarding the playground design and award of the playground equipment and installation for Chancellor Park (2025 Playground Replacement Program Project C-032, budget = $300,000).

BACKGROUND:

The Chancellor Park playground upgrades will be the Town’s first accessible playground, designed to be inclusive for people with different levels of abilities.

Public feedback indicated the following preferred playground structures:

• Improved swings
• Climbing structures (e.g. rope, ladders)
• Slide
• Jumping apparatus (in ground trampoline or equivalent)
• Spinners
• Designed for 5-12yr old children with ability to be suitable for early childhood play (2-5yr old children)

Public commentary also included a need to control the rate of playground expansion and the need to balance the overall usage of the park (enjoyment of greenspace, a destination park with multiple activities and features not exclusive to any one group).

Council also indicated themes to reuse equipment where possible, and to improve park accessibility from Cheltenham Street.

DESIGN: THE SPACE

With the above noted themes in mind, the playground is required to be nominally expanded to accommodate the playground structures (Figure 2). The expansion shape is strategic because:

• It avoids expansion towards nearby residents, thus keeping noise and playground users towards the middle of the park area. Staff have reached out to the neighbouring property to the east and there was no opposition identified to the expansion plan.
• It accommodates future park investments that align with the public’s preference for a park that balances multiple activities and features (for example, additional benches and tables, greenspace improvements)
• It is an efficient space that minimizes unusable space and accommodates the playground structures given the allotted project budget.

The spatial upgrades (new border, excavation costs, drainage installation and installation of wood fiber material) would be conducted by a separate contractor (see Financial Implications for details).

DESIGN: PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT CONCEPTS

The competitive process was conducted via Notice of Intent on BC Bid, with the preferred vender being Habitat Systems Inc. (“Habitat”). Habitat is a reputable, local and Canadian owned and operated playground equipment vendor that has installed many inclusive playground equipment within the Capital Region. Habitat has been involved with past View Royal playgrounds: therefore, utilizing Habitat results in a maximum level of service for playground structure quality, servicing, warranty, and availability of replacement parts.

Habitat was also involved in installing the existing Chancellor Park playground equipment. As a result, Habitat Systems’ assessment of the existing swing set determined that it could be reused, thus providing value-added cost savings to the project.

Three playground equipment concepts were requested by the Town, of varying equipment and costs:

* Cost includes the supply and installation of rubber surfacing and accessibility ‘communications’ board

One of each playground structures identified above can be found within Greater Victoria, further solidifying better operational customer service from Habitat Systems Inc.

Recommended Concept

Staff recommend Option #1 for the following reasons:

1. The equipment best reflects the public feedback. Additionally, the playground structure has bouncing / jumping features (an in ground trampoline has been determined to be too maintenance heavy for staff to keep to an acceptable level of service).
2. The “We-Go-Round” spinner is popular amongst children of all ages and abilities: the spinner accommodates people living in wheelchairs including their caregivers. The structure is also more maintenance friendly than other accessible spinners
3. There is a good balance of rubber surfacing to improve accessibility for people of all abilities. While wood fiber is still considered accessible, Option #1 provides a balance that maximizes access to most of the structure entrance and exit points
4. At least one of the slides is positioned to land onto the rubber surfacing, improving accessibility for children and their caregivers;
5. The swings remain in the same location, reducing install costs and maximizing budget for better equipment.

Concept renderings of Option #1 are provided below (and included in Attachment 1):