'Recess is a right': Regina city council votes unanimously to update playground accessibility

Regina city council voted Wednesday to significantly update its playground accessibility requirements, paving the way for more playgrounds equipped for people with disabilities.

In a unanimous vote, council directed city administration to update its definitions of "accessible" and "inclusive" playgrounds to make them more specific, and add several requirements for playgrounds to qualify for those new definitions.

According to the motion, an accessible playground is one that is "easy for a person who uses a device to manoeuvre to and around." An inclusive playground must also meet the needs of a variety of other disabilities like visual impairments, cognitive disabilities and sensory sensitivities.

All future playgrounds built in the city will be required to meet these new standards.

"It started when I realized: recess. When I thought about recess," said Coun. Sarah Turnbull, who introduced the motion and whose daughter Blake is paraplegic.

"I thought about how recess is a right for everyone, and having to be sidelined at recess — and not just my daughter being sidelined at recess, but everyone around them being taught, 'that's how you treat people with disabilities.'"

Regina has more than 150 playgrounds, but the city's website lists only seven as "accessible" or "fully accessible."

According to Turnbull, adding these definitions and standards will align with the standards of the American Disabilities Act, which will actually make it easier to make future accessible playgrounds accessible, because major playgrounds suppliers base their categories of playgrounds around those standards.

Half of all play elements on new playgrounds must now be accessible for people with mobility devices. Only 15 per cent of those accessible elements, at most, can require a person to get off their device to use.

Wood chips, which are difficult to navigate for children in wheelchairs, will no longer be used. Play routes on playgrounds will be wider and made easier to use for people with mobility devices, and elevated levels are no longer a requirement.

Parents, advocates support changes

According to Turnbull, the long-term savings of using rubber surfaces instead of wood chips outweigh the higher installation cost. In total, the other standard changes would lead to overall cost savings. 

A large delegation of parents and advocates presented to council in favour of the motion.

Vanessa Rodriguez-McVety, vice-chair of the City of Regina's accessibility advisory committee, praised the changes.

"Meeting people where they're at is extremely important," she said. "Supporting children with disabilities can be extremely isolating, and not being able to bring your children to play with other children is extremely heartbreaking."

Andrew Schmidt from the First Steps Wellness Centre, a non-profit that helps people with disabilities, said the new playgrounds will also help non-disabled children.

"Accessible playgrounds promote early stage exposure for all children to see what disabilities are like," he said, citing disability challenges within his own family.

The motion also directed city administration to study the creation of an accessible indoor playground within the recreational master plan to present for the next municipal budget. City council will also discuss a $1-million refurbishment fund for upgrading current playgrounds when it meets to discuss the next municipal budget.

Later in the meeting, a motion by Coun. David Froh to declare a homelessness crisis in the city was passed by 9-2 vote.

The declaration calls upon the provincial and federal governments to provide emergency funding to address the crisis. It also directs city administration to report to council later this year on how money will be needed to execute its two existing homeless strategies: its community well-being plan and its five-year plan to end chronic homelessness, titled "Everyone is Home."

City council also voted in favour of expanding the exclusion zone for residential development around the Regina International Airport at Wednesday's meeting.