The playground washrooms are now open. These are the one located off the playground at the north end of TRC. (FYI the left doors are for women, right for men.) Relief is now close by for the kids and parents.

HOURS:
Weekday - 10am to 8:30pm aprox
Weekends - 9am to 8:30pm aprox

In the Spring of 2007, Parks and Recreation informed Friends of Trinity Bellwoods of their plans to install Phase I of a new playground design for Trinity Bellwoods Park in the Fall of 2007. In response, Friends of Trinity Bellwoods, together with City staff and Councillor Pantalone's Office, hosted a community meeting on June 12th to solicit feedback regarding priorities for the new design. We also conducted on-site interviews at the playground. A big thanks to all who participated!

Below is I) a three-point summary of the community’s priorities for the Phase I design, II) a description of the Parks and Rec. Phase I design in response to the community's feedback, III) images of the Phase I plan (COMING SOON) and (IV) images of equipment options for the Middle Playground.

Please note: The City will be installing new play equipment in the Middle Playground as part of the Phase 1 Playground Upgrade. If you have an opinion about which equipment proposal you prefer, please send your comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by 5 PM on Monday, August 20th. Scroll down for images of the equipment choices plus a brief explanation. Large drawings of the equipment choices are located on the Friends of Trinity Bellwoods bulletin board at the Rec. Centre. In an effort to solicit feedback from kids regarding the new equipment, Friends of Trinity Bellwoods has thus far conducted interviews at the Art in the Park Summer Camp.

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We will be making some very colourful improvements to the playground this Park Day as we paint the wading pool and several picnic tables which are in a sad state. The above photo is the chosen design (the colours may vary depending on paint availability)

In total, four designs were submitted by three artists: Jessica Lovegrove, Ruth Spitzer, and Patti Kane. We then brought the designs to the playground and asked parents and children which image they liked the best and which they thought would inspire imaginative play when the pool was empty (which is most of the time). People liked the “Flower” design for its simplicity and because it was different from designs at other City pools.

A huge thanks to the artists who took their time and their creativity to submit designs. Also, thanks to the City Parks and Recreation for supplying the slip proof, UV resistant paint for the wading pool!

Also on Park Day, Jane Wells and children from the CARE program will be putting their artistic talents to work as they paint several picnic tables for the playground.

NOW WE NEED YOUR HELP! Please email me if you are available to help out with any of the following activities:

1. Sanding Picnic Tables: Friday June 1, after-school/early evening
2. Base Coat Picnic Tables: Friday June 1, after-school/early evening
3. Wading Pool Painting: Sunday June 3, 10-1
4. Support Children’s Painting of Picnic Tables: Sunday June 3, 10-1

We are also in NEED of materials. If you have any of the following items you could donate please contact Patricia ASAP.

1. Paint Rollers
2. Paint Brushes
3. Drop Clothes / Tarps
4. Sandpaper / Scrapers

Feb. 17th, 2008 update
Maryann of the Rec Centre has contacted her contact person in the City that (I believe) overseeing this washroom situation. At this time we have not heard back. I will be keeping on this to do my best to get those much needed washrooms open for this Spring of 2008. Feel free to contact the Parks, Forestry & Recreation yourself to express your thoughts. It's been going on waaaay too long.
Carolyn

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As many playground patrons may have noticed, the washrooms adjacent to the playground were not open for the 2007 playground season. As with last year. This is the result of new equipment for the indoor pool being installed on top of these washrooms. Both the contractor and city inspector need to sign off on the completion of this equipment installation before the washrooms can be opened. No firm date has been set for re-opening. We are keeping tabs on the situation and can hope come summer 2008 they will be useable along side our wonderful new playground.

When asked about providing a portable toilet for use in the interim, the Recreation Centre management cited concerns about vandalism and sanitation. This led to unsafe and unsanitary practices occurring, such as kids peeing on the grass and in the bushes, or needing to go into the offleash area to use the washroom there.

Until the playground washrooms are re-open, the Centre Manager, Maryann Dibiagio ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) has suggested that playground patrons use the indoor washrooms that are open until 9pm on weekdays and 5pm on weekends.

If you are concerned about this situation, please post your comments and contact Maryann (at the email provided above).