Strangely, we first visited this park almost exactly 10 years ago, when it was the FIRST wheelchair accessible playground we’d seen in (then) 60 playgrounds. it was quite the eye-opener and the smooth rubber surfacing, adaptive swing, and interactive panels were quite a rarity then.
10 years later, the playground has been entirely redone in collaboration with the Lester B. Pearson School Board, with an investment of 1.4M$ You can read the borough’s press release here.
At first glance, we loved the new design. There are fantastic play modules, tons of little hidden sensory panels and a search and find in the toddler section. It’s bright and colourful and will entertain and challenge kids of all ages.
However, there are some glitches like the accessible sand table in the toddler area that is set too far for a wheelchair user to be able to use it. The lack of an adaptive swing and the fact that all of the swings are now set in wood chips and there is no cutout in the concrete border. And that there are almost no sensory panels in the one area that is wheelchair accessible.
There’s some green space to run around, but no fencing surrounding the playgrounds, though it is set back from the road and there’s a hill along the East side. Grier Park as a whole is immense with 8 hectares of land and includes tennis courts, basketball, baseball, a hill for winter sledding and even ANOTHER PLAYGROUND on the corner of Rue Amalfi.
Things to note:
– the playground is on the corner of Meloche and des Cageux. There is street parking nearby or you can try in the school parking lot during off hours.
– Residents of Montreal AND non-residents are able to use the splash pad at the nearby Valleycrest Pool. Details on the pool’s website are vague, and I didn’t get a reply to my email, but you can find some info on the city’s website HERE.
