South Arm Park – Designing a Destination

Written by Sonya Wilson

Discover What Makes Richmond’s South Arm Park Community Playground So Awesome For Kids And Adults

Have you ever posted photos on Instagram of a great playground you took your kids or grandkids to? Or told your friends over coffee what a fun day out you had with the family at an awesome playground? What was it about those parks that made you want to share them?

A lot of research and creativity goes into crafting the components and features you see on new playgrounds to appeal to the kids who play on them. But did you know that play spaces and the surrounding park areas are designed with YOU in mind? 

Let’s take a peek at South Arm Park in Richmond that did just that.

The Billows structure is designed with little ones in mind

Slinging a bag of snacks, water bottles, and diapers over one shoulder and holding her squirming toddler over the other, a mom heads over to the playground. Her other two eager, preschool-aged sons race straight over to the sand play area and climb onto the diggers to start “excavating”. Mom settles down nearby at the hot air balloon-themed structure to play with their little brother.

The South Arm Park Community playground in Richmond, BC is buzzing with kids of all ages. They are scaling the huge climbing tower, scampering up to the hill slide, and breathlessly waiting for their turn on the zipline. Adult family members are playing with little ones while their older kids spin and swing in another section of the playground close by. Amid all this action the two little boys have now moved on from the diggers. They clamber to the top of the climbing dome and will tell anyone who asks that this is “Grandpa’s Park”. 

Their Grandpa is Dave Warner, a Playground Consultant with Habitat Systems. 

“It’s an emotional paycheque for me whenever I see my grandchildren playing at playgrounds that I have had a part in creating. I brought my kids to South Arm Park to play back in the 90’s and now my daughter meets us here with her three kids. I get to see and experience as a grandparent, and through my daughter’s eyes as a parent, how this design works so well for everyone.” 

Destination Parks are Instagram-worthy

Playgrounds that are designed considering inclusive and intergenerational use are the ones that are the busiest and most well-used. And the most talked about! Intergenerational practice in design involves removing physical and social barriers. This enables people from different generations to engage in activities together, with a focus on building relationships. Being at a playground should be a positive experience for everyone.

Parents with young children in the 2-5 play area can see through the play space to where their older children are playing on another structure

The South Arm playground is a destination park that exemplifies intergenerational and inclusive design in the following ways:

1. The playground design was informed through community input from:
   • Open houses
   • Online surveys
   • Needs identified by the City of Richmond 
     
2. Sightlines across the entire playground are clear and intuitive. This is a critical aspect of playground design that creates ease of use for adults supervising multiple children.
   
3. Mature trees were kept, which was important to children and adults. The trees provide natural shade, allowing users of all ages to keep cool while visiting the playground.
   
4. The tables and benches around the border of the play space facilitate family gatherings and social interactions.
   
5. The use of rubber surfacing allows users of all ages and abilities to enjoy access to climbers, swings, spinners, and the structure for 2-5 year olds. 
   
6. An existing hill offers multiple access routes to a new hill slide.

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