One of Burnaby's park redevelopment projects will benefit from thousands of scrap B.C. tires thanks to a grant from Tire Stewardship B.C.
After a budget increase to the parks department was approved in 2022, Lobley Park was named as one of five city parks that would be receiving upgrades in 2024, with city staff noting Burnaby's playground structures have since become “smaller and less inviting.”
In 2022, the city said it replaces three playgrounds per year, meaning a typical playground was being replaced every 28 years — though a structure’s life-cycle is only about 15 years.
That led to “maintenance issues” and “patch repairs to extend (playground) life well beyond the target replacement periods,” according to a city staff report.
Lobley Park was designated as a basic playground, which have a capacity of about 30 children and cost about $300,000.
The city has planned for four basic playgrounds to be upgraded every year.
On Tuesday, June 11, Tire Stewardship BC (TSBC) announced eight organizations throughout the province that will be receiving TSBC grants to start or complete community playground projects that utilize B.C. recycled tires.
The City of Burnaby will see 2,114 recycled tires used for its Lobley Park Playground Redevelopment project.
“Pour-in-place rubber surfacing is a desirable surface material for enhancing playgrounds,” Tire Stewardship BC Executive Director Rosemary Sutton said in a news release.
“Rubber surfacing increases the accessibility of playgrounds and makes them more inclusive for people of all ages and all abilities. For example, if a child is in a wheelchair, pea gravel or other surfaces can be challenging to navigate. Rubber surfacing ensures children and adults of all abilities can participate, and everyone in the community benefits. We’re so excited to see these 2024 projects come to life across our province!”
Other communities receiving grants in 2024 include Port Moody, North Vancouver, Richmond, Merritt, Vernon and Kamloops.
To date, Tire Stewardship B.C. has provided $6 million in grants to help fund more than 340 projects.
- with files from Lauren Vanderdeen, Burnaby NOW
