I was going to play it cool, but “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
This hotly-anticipated inclusive park in Pointe-Claire is open, and it’s fantastic.
Located at the intersections of Gendron and Des Frênes in the new Quartier Greenwich development (see the interactive map below for directions), the fully-fenced and gated park is named in honour of Tony Proudfoot.
Proudfoot was a longtime Pointe-Claire resident, a John Rennie High School student, and a CFL player with the Montreal Alouettes and BC Lions who passed away in 2010 after a battle with ALS.
The name for the new park was chosen through a contest for Pointe-Claire residents, and a commemorative plaque in the park pays tribute to Mr. Proudfoot.
The park is designed for children of all abilities and inspires creativity, imagination, physical activity, and most of all: FUN!
The toddler area has one of our favourite play structures which has a ton to touch and explore. There are bells to ring, a track for Hot Wheels or marbles (for real!), mini ladders, and easy-to-climb stairs.
Nearby is the Cozy Dome® climber which is great for quiet play or to actually climb over.
Everything is on a soft and smooshy carpeted base.
Trot past the sensory centre with its different sensory/musical panels and tactile walls, and the colourful and cheery play “big-kid” structure invites everyone to climb, run, or wheel up!
The double-wide wheelchair-accessible ramp is nice to see, as it gives everyone plenty of room to play together, or for others to pass by without having to squeeze through.
The Sway Fun® Glider can hold a whole whack of kids, and there’s even a tic-tac-toe game on the small onboard table.
Trot up the ramp (playing the wall games along the way), and there’s the roller slide (amazing!), a periscope for spying on siblings, marbles to touch and turn, sign language to learn, and so much more.
My little one loved the new-to-him cable climber, and delighted at the windows to peer out of.
I particularly love that there are play opportunities all around: Children at ground level can play alonside their peers on the elevated decks, and there are sensory panels along the ramps and on multiple walls. This playground has a ton of play value.
You’ll also find the creative Friendship Swing (my two just yelled at each other, sigh), an adaptive swing, and one adult swing; a quiet area in the far off corner with benches and shade; beautiful wooden bridges and lovely landscaping (love the dry riverbed!); and a fantastic trio of wheelchair-accessible tables under a huge shade structure.
Things to note:
-The park is completely fenced and gated, but there are multiple gates to check if you need them all latched.
-There are no wood chips or sand here. All the play products are on soft carpeting, with bits of artificial grass.
-There is more room to run around than I thought there’d be when I first saw the site at the beginning of construction.
-A wheelchair-accessible portable washroom is located near one of the entrances. Phew.
-There is limited shade over the play areas, though there are large shade structures nearby.
-This is an easy park if you have kids of multiple ages to watch. Another phew!
