Four capital region schools will be getting new accessible playgrounds as part of a provincial plan to add 60 new play facilities throughout B.C.
The province is putting $10 million into the playgrounds this year, with $165,000 going into each project, which will include ramps and other elements to help with access.
The playgrounds will be built over the next year.
The Greater Victoria School District will receive playgrounds at Northridge and Lake Hill elementaries, while the Sooke district will get one at Colwood Elementary.
Another is coming to the Children’s Development Centre — a facility for elementary- and middle-school students needing extra social and emotional help, and the site of a new $4.2-million building in the Saanich district.
Fifty of B.C.’s 60 school districts are getting playgrounds.
Funding is coming from the Playground Equipment Program, which was created in 2018 to lessen the burden of playground fundraising for parents.
School maintenance grants, which are distributed each year, are helping with other projects around the region including upgrades to the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems at Bayside Middle School and Spectrum Community School. They are among 84 HVAC upgrades to be done at provincial schools.
