Sunnybrae Community Park Playground Upgrade

Get ready to play!

Following a successful public engagment campaign to hear what the community wanted for the Sunnybrae Playground, the CSRD has engaged a contractor, Parkworks, to bring the vision to life.

In the first phase, Sunnybrae Park will receive custom shade sails to enhance the park and beach experience, a sensory multi-play panel, a custom swing, new climbers, spinner and a meadow trail. A water mister play area will be installed in the second phase of improvements.

Design plans are now completed and meet the project budget targets. The project has now progressed to ordering the equipment. This will take approximately 8-10 weeks for delivery.

Equipment installation will be weather dependent, with hopes of getting started in late fall or winter. If the weather doesn't cooperate, installation will start in spring 2027.

What we heard from the survey!

Sunnybrae is a park that is enjoyed by residents, but also acts as a destination for tourists. Most people want to use the playground monthly (39.1 per cent), weekly (34.8 per cent) or several times a week (23.9 per cent). More tourists responded to this survey than any of the other parks.

Active Play is the top priority for new equipment, which is defined as any form of unstructured, child-led physical activity that gets children moving, breathing harder, and having fun. In second place was, risk-taking and challenges. This is defined as activity that involves uncertainty, physical challenge, and building resilience. It focuses on mastering skills, such as climbing high or moving fast.

The survey showed the top five priorities for play activities were:
• Swinging
• Climbing
• Sliding
• Tower Structure
• Balancing

Preferred colours are Natural and Earthy (56.5 per cent), followed by Natural and Vibrant (32.6 per cent. Preferred theme is Natural, Forest, Animals (62.2 per cent) or no theme. (22 per cent).

Other themes:

A clear priority is making the park more comfortable and functional for caregivers:
• Repeated requests for benches and picnic tables near the playground.
• Desire for seating close enough to supervise children safely.
• Ongoing emphasis on shade structures for hot summer days.

Residents are calling for expanded and more inclusive play options:
• Strong demand for more swings, including enough capacity (multiple sets) and options for all ages.
• Feedback that current equipment does not adequately serve older children, with many losing interest by age 7.
• Continued need for equipment suitable for toddlers and younger children alongside older-age features.
• Calls for improved accessibility, including ramps/mats for people with disabilities.

Now we will look at incorporating your input into a playground design. Remember, there's not an unlimited budget. So we look to make the choices that best reflects the wishes of park users and offer the most value.

Current playground equipment
The playground at Sunnybrae Community Park features two separate play structures for multi-age play.

There's a number of features aimed at children ages 2-5 years:

• 2 ridged climbers
• 1 flexible rope climber
• Double slide

Features aimed at children aged 5-12 years include:

• Multi-platform structure
• Slide
• Flexible rope climber
• Flexible ladder
• Ridged ladder
• Loungers
• Table surface under structure