New accessible playground in St. John's will sit on giant Canadian Tire logo

A million-dollar accessible playground the City of St. John's otherwise couldn't afford is going in at Mundy Pond Park.

A rendering of the space shows grey plastic equipment with triangular cutouts on a red rubberized surface.

From play level, the kids running and wheeling around probably won't be able to tell, but the red rubber is actually a giant Canadian Tire logo.

Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities is donating an 11,000-square-foot playground to St. John's.

It's part of the company's commitment to build an accessible park in each of Canada's provinces and territories by 2022.

"I'm fine with the branding," said Coun. Jamie Korab.

Pictures of the park posted on the City's Facebook page have been drawing mixed reviews. Some like the look, others say the park is bought advertising in a public space.

"Once this is built, and once it's installed, and people come down and look at it, I don't think that will be their main concern," Korab said.

"I think when they come down and see people in wheelchairs, people with mobility issues, people with impairment issues when they come down and see this in use, I think those cares will be taken care of."

The president of Jumpstart charities, Scott Fraser, feels the same.

When asked why he chose grey play equipment for a children's park, he said colour choice is a "subjective conversation" and then circled back to the playground's level of inclusivity.

"I would go back to not so much about the colouring about the pieces of equipment and the purpose of the equipment itself," he said.

"I like to focus on that in terms of, you know, what it's delivering and the various kids of all needs that it caters to."

He said the contrast between the colourless equipment and the bright rubberized surface it's built onhelps children with sensory processing disorders or autism spectrum disorder.

Barrier to play

Korab said the city council is grateful to Canadian Tire and Jumpstart.

There are two accessible city-owned parks in St. John's at Bowring Park and Kenmount Terrace and Korab said the city wouldn't really be able to afford one at the magnitude of the Jumpstart park.

"It would be tough for the city to find a million dollars for that," he said.

The city will have to pay to prep the land and remove the existing equipment on site which, Korab says, should be repurposed. The City is also required to regularly maintain the playground once it's installed.

Korab hopes the park at Blackler Ave. will be ready in time for next summer.

It's the same site that the city has proposed for the new H.G.R. Mews Community Centre.

• Strong feelings surface over proposed replacement for Mews Centre

There was no public consultation set up for the Jumpstart park, but Korab said photos of it were on display at Mews Centre consultations.

Even if the new rec complex isn't built at the proposed site, Korab said the Jumpstart park will be going ahead there because it's centrally located, it's on a bus route, and there are other recreation facilities nearby.

More than a plaque

According to Tom Cooper, associate professor of strategic management at Memorial University, brands are getting more overt with their donations.

He said typically, companies or foundations that made this kind of donation would have just done a plaque.

"And now, increasingly, companies are saying 'hey, we want to get more bang for our buck.' We want to make sure that if you're an adult, and you're walking to this park, you're not only seeing a plaque but you're also seeing our colour scheme, you're seeing our brand," Cooper said.

Generally speaking, he said "if it's going to be too brash, too in your face, then at some point you just go 'is this a great park or is this just a great brand?'"

Five Jumpstart parks have already been built. Similarly designed playgrounds are in Charlottetown, Winnipeg, Toronto, Calgaryand Prince Albert.

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