Young families from the Ravenswood subdivision are urging Squamish council to act on providing a playground in the area.
Last week, four parents wrote to the council, asking for playground near the subdivision that is known to have lot of young families.
“It’s pretty sad to me that in a neighbourhood where 80-90% of the residents of 111 homes either have young children or are expecting soon and our council did not ensure that the developers of either Ravenswood, Seven Peaks or King Fisher create an accessible neighbourhood park,” said Shiera Aryev, who moved into Ravenswood last year.
Aryev noted that there is a small playground in Brennan Park, which has one slide and two swings, and can accommodate a maximum of seven kids.
She said Brennan Park has an outdoor gym that is completely unused, and the pump track and skate park are not accessible for younger kids.
Brennan Park, she says, would be an ideal place for a proper playground, although the Brennan Park Fields and Master plan makes no mention of it.
Another Ravenswood parent, Kelly Burke, said their neighbourhood deserves a playground.
“Our neighbourhood is mostly filled with young families and although we are lucky to live in a town full of nature and bike trails, playgrounds are a central place that brings people together in a neighbourhood,” Burke wrote.
Burke hopes the council will make this a priority in the coming two years to either create a new playground at Ravenswood or at Brennan Park.
“I hope that my advocacy for a playground along with others that feel the same way in my community will allow council to know just how much this would mean to our community,” Burke said.
Father of a three-year-old and Ravenswood resident, Tom Boguslawski, said there are some district plans for the area but there is nothing concrete on when a playground may materialise in the area.
“We hope you will make it a priority in the next year or two to create a solution by creating a new playground in Ravenswood or creating an interim playground solution in Brennan Park that we can access soon,” he said.
Ravenswood mom Audrey Plaskacz also wrote to the council, expressing her disappointment with the lack of a park in Ravenswood.
“I want my children to be able to play in a playground in the next few years, not wait 10 years until they no longer will be interested in a playground.”
Stefan Lozinsky, father of two and Ravenswood resident, said the playground at Brennan Park is small and in dire need of an upgrade, especially considering the area is filled with young families.
“This seems like low hanging fruit and something that could be done in the short term even with the pending Brenan Park Fields and Lands Master Plan,” he said.
“The recreation centre offers a flagship location for a playground and the current playground is anything but that, he added.
