CHANCELLOR PARK PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT AWARD
Staff report recommending the award of a contract to Habitat Systems Inc. for new accessible playground equipment at Chancellor Park.
TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL COUNCIL REPORT
TO: Council FROM: Ivan Leung, P.Eng, Director of Engineering DATE: December 16, 2025 MEETING DATE: January 20, 2026
CHANCELLOR PARK PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT AWARD
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the playground equipment purchase and installation as outlined in Option #1 per the staff report dated December 16, 2025 titled “Chancellor Park Playground Equipment Award”, 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 Council approve the other options identified in the staff report dated December 16, 2025 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:
| Option # | Playground Equipment Description | Cost (net GST)* |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smartplay “Venti” + We-Go-Round | $267,025 |
| 2 | Smartplay “Treetops” + Omni-Spinner | $200,534 |
| 3 | Smartplay “Volo” + We-Go-Round | $325,261 |
* 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:
- 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).
- The “We-Go-Round” spinner is popular amongst children of all ages and abilities: the spinner accommodates people living in wheelchairs including their care-givers. The structure is also more maintenance friendly than other accessible spinners
- 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
- At least one of the slides is positioned to land onto the rubber surfacing, improving accessibility for children and their caregivers;
- 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):
In addition to the playground structure(s), staff recommend the installation of a 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 Category | Impact Description |
|---|---|
| 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
Document Images
(3)
