The Glen Cedar Public School area community can soon expect to have a newly redone public playground to enjoy.
York Region District School Board and the municipality have announced a partnership to install a new playground, replacing the aging one near the front of the school. The municipality plans to have a public information session in the fall to get input, with the new playground to be installed in the spring.
Ward 3 Councillor Jane Twinney said this playground was something she wanted to make happen when she started on council 16 years ago.
“I was very pleased when I got the notification from the town,” she said, adding that it took many conversations with the board over a long period of time.
The school board owns the land and playground on Wayne Drive, in the Davis Drive and Leslie Street area. But under the new arrangement, although the board will still own the land, the playground will be built by the municipality. Afterwards, the school board will maintain it.
Twinney said the playground is well-used by the public due to its positioning, which made the town want to put something new in place. It took many negotiations, which were also stalled during the pandemic.
“They were very reluctant to hand it over,” Twinney said, adding that after schools reopened, “we kind of regrouped. Happy to say the school board was willing to allow us to replace the equipment to up to town standards.”
In a letter to the school community at the end of June, interim principal of Glen Cedar Marina Cochrane announced the news.
“Replacing a playground structure is an enormous project, and certainly one we cannot undertake alone,” Cochrane said. “I would like to thank the Town of Newmarket for their partnership on this project, as well as the many staff at our board office who are making this possible for our school and community. I would also like to thank all of our students, families and community members for their patience and understanding as we bid farewell to the old Glen Cedar playground to make way for our brand new playground.”
The existing playground has been removed as part of the project, although Cochrane said the swingset will be maintained until the new playground gets installed.
Twinney said the scope of the work is limited to the playground, with ideas like a spray pad not feasible given it is on school property.
But she said she hopes it can be “a playground that can be used by all and something that’s going to add to the community.”
The town will announce details on the public information centre at a later date.