Several playgrounds in Prince George have been deemed unsafe and plans are in the works to replace and remove them.
Playgrounds built in city parks decades ago no longer meet the safety requirements set by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), according to the city.
In view of this, the City of Prince George is reinvesting in its civic playground infrastructure and the five-year plan outlines the schedule to replace 25 of the city's 66 playgrounds with CSA-compliant equipment.
The plan also includes the removal of 20 playgrounds with the locations remaining as parkland and green spaces not including school playgrounds.
"The playground plan will help to ensure CSA standards and levels of quality are met now and in the future," said Sean LeBrun, the city's manager of parks and solid waste.
"The plan aims to improve playground conditions, safety and maintenance and includes a five-year strategy to ensure Prince George has a reliable inventory of CSA-compliant equipment that is safe for community use."
In May, parks staff will begin removing non-CSA compliant playground equipment from the 20 parks identified as being the lowest priority for reinvestment as outlined in the Park Strategy.
The decision was approved by council in January.
The city is currently working on a proposal to install new play equipment at four local parks: St. Mary's Park, North College Park, Byng Park and Eaglenest Park.
City staff will provide brochures before removal to all residences near the affected parks and once the equipment is removed, the parks will remain as city parks or greenbelts.
Construction is set to begin in August and is due to finish in September.
For information on the city's Playground Plan and the Park Strategy, go online to princegeorge.ca.
