Staff Report: Chancellor Park Playground Equipment Award (Excerpt)
A staff report recommending the purchase and installation of new playground equipment for Chancellor Park, focusing on inclusive play options.
Report to Committee of the Whole
Re: Chancellor Park Playground Equipment Award Meeting Date: January 13, 2026
Figure 3: Playground Option #1 Site Plan
In addition to the playground structure(s), staff recommend the installation of a communication board.
Figure 4: Example Communication Board
Alternative Playground Equipment Concepts
The Option 2 and Option 3 concepts are found in Attachment 1 of this report.
Option 2’s main playground structure (the “Treetops” structure) is comparable in cost to Option 1. However, instead of the “We-Go-Round” spinner, a different “Omni-Spinner” is shown to identify the range of spinning equipment available to the Town. The Omni-Spinner is substantially cheaper, however, while still considered ‘accessible’, it does not provide the equivalent accommodation measures for people living in wheelchairs as the We-Go-Round. There are three reasons why staff consider Option 2 a less preferable option than Option #1:
- The spinner, which is a popular piece of equipment, is less inclusive than the We-Go-Round spinner. Keeping the We-Go-Round spinner would increase the overall playground equipment cost to $257,317;
- The playground structure has some high elements, resulting in higher maintenance costs for inspections and replacement of the canvas shaders;
- Due to budgeting constraints, at least one of the slides are not positioned to land onto the rubber surfacing.
Should Council wish to choose the Option #2 playground structure, staff recommend installing the We-Go-Round spinner instead of the Omni-Spinner ($257,317 net GST).
Option 3 is the third (and one of the newest) accessible play structure but is 28% over the Town’s budget. Staff’s assessment also identified possible concerns that this option could have the highest operational costs (maintenance, staffing burden and playground replacement costs). Even though the We-Go-Round spinner could be replaced with less expensive equipment, the maintenance burden places staff’s assessment of this option as the least desirable amongst the three options.
ANALYSIS:
Impacts and implications can be summarized as follows:
| Impact Area | Details |
|---|---|
| Community Impact: | The playground equipment supports inclusive play. The equipment creates an adaptive play space for different levels and abilities of children. |
| Financial Implication: | The total 2025 budget for the Chancellor Park Playground Replacement project is $300,000. Of this, the Town received a $125,000 from the Federal Government (Enabling Accessibility Fund) to offset the playground equipment costs. This means that the remaining $175,000 would be funded through DCC’s ($37,125) and the Parks Improvement Reserve ($137,875). Up to $50,000 of the budget is required to be set aside for the playground spatial upgrades and the additional path works (path from the front of the playground to the Galloping Goose Regional Trail, path from the rear of the playground to Cheltenham Street). This leaves $250,000 of original budget remaining for the supply and installation of the playground equipment. Staff recommend a contingency of $20,000 be added to the project budget in case the playground expansion work and path works use the entire $50,000 allotment (worst case). As the total cost to install Option #1 (including the communications board) would be $267,025, net of GST, the total project budget including the expansion and path works, plus contingency would be $337,025. Therefore, $37,025 of additional budget would be required in 2026. The $37,025 can be funded through the Playground Improvements Reserve. Staff will also be actively working with Habitat on grant funding of the rubber surfacing to reduce costs further. Should Council approve the playground equipment purchase, completion would be in early to mid 2026. |
| Inter-governmental Relations Impact: | Permitting will be required from the Capital Regional District and Province of British Columbia due to works occurring in and around the Galloping Goose Regional Trail. Staff have already engaged both parties for the purposes of permitting. |
ALIGNMENT:
The recommended option aligns with the Town’s following core guiding documents as follows:
| Document | Alignment Details |
|---|---|
| Strategic Plan: | Strategic Priority A (Enhance Liveability): Goal 2: Improve Accessibility Options Goal 6: Sufficient and Appropriate Parks and Open Space |
| Official Community Plan: | Objective PR1: Policy PR1.2: Remove barriers and improve access…to all parks…Support the incorporation of universal design standards into all parks and recreation facilities, including outdoor play areas for children. Policy PR1.3: Increase the number of recreation opportunities for youth throughout View Royal. Encourage the development of new facilities as well as improvements to existing assets. |
| Other Policy Documents: | Parks Master Plan, Action List: Install new or replace aging play infrastructure to address ongoing community change and population growth at Chancellor Park. |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION GOAL:
The desired level of public participation for the recommended option is:
[x] Inform [ ] Consult [ ] Involve [ ] Collaborate [ ] Empower [ ] N/A
A comprehensive public participation program (at the “consult” level) has already been conducted to identify the key desirable playground equipment features.
TIME CRITICAL:
Pricing by the vendor is valid for 90 days.
| CONCURRENCE: | Initials | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Administrative Officer | SS | I concur with the recommendation. |
| REVIEWED BY: | Initials |
|---|---|
| Director of Corporate Administration/Deputy CAO | N/R |
| Director of Finance & Technology | SV |
| Director of Development Services | N/R |
| Director of Engineering | IL |
| Director of Protective Services | N/R |
ATTACHMENTS:
- Playground Options