INNISFAIL - The Innisfail Lions Club and the Town of Innisfail have finally completed their new playground project for the Anthony Henday Campground.
The total cost of the new campground playground was just under $28,000, with the Lions Club contributing almost $8,543 of the total. The town also purchased new equipment for the playground at Pythian Park, located at the east corner of 49th Avenue and 46th Street, at a cost of $ 8,135. The equipment will be installed this fall. All prices do not include GST.
Lions Club member Tom Reinhart, the manager of the campground, said the need for a new playground was recognized last year after it was determined its equipment was badly worn. It was later determined the town was no longer able to purchase replacement parts for the broken components, and was unable to make necessary repairs. New equipment was then ordered from an Alberta playground supplier and construction began in the fall after the campground closed for the season.
"The plan was to put it in last fall. They (town) tore it out and we got early snow and it just didn't work out," said Reinhart, whose service club has managed the town-owned campground for the past seven years.
Work resumed in April with the project finally completed on the May long weekend. In total, town work crews spent between 10 and 12 days on the installation of the playground project.
"The town pretty much put it together and we helped a little bit, but basically the town gets the credit for the work that was done," said Reinhart.
The completed project's new features include a six-foot slide, 10-foot wave slide, pebble bath, double climb, Inukshuk climb, squiggle climb, a decorative map of Canada and an ice cream store front. A tire swing that was ordered for the campground was not installed due to lack of space. The town will instead install it at another as yet unspecified playground in the near future.
In the meantime, the new playground at Anthony Henday Campground is an instant hit for campers and local cyclists who have passed by.
"We saw it was being built a couple of times and we decided to stop. Today was our lucky day," said local mother and cyclist Jenny Sheddy, who stopped at the new campground play area with her three children. "I think it is fun. It has new things other parks don't have, and it's a great location with lots of shade."
