A resident waved another warning flag over the Mooney’s Bay park playground being constructed by the city and a TV production company.
The playground will have obstructed sightlines and it will be built in dangerous proximity to the river, the resident wrote to city solicitor Rick O’Connor on Monday, while including a list of news headlines describing tragedies near bodies of water. The project should be put on hold until a risk analysis is finished, the resident said.
O’Connor wrote back today with a detailed response. Here it is:
Thank you for your inquiry below with regard to the absence of a specific “drowning risk assessment” for the Mooney’s Bay Playground. I can confirm that I have now had an opportunity to review your concerns with the City’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services staff as well as Legal Services and can provide the following response for your information.
As described in the Agreement with Sinking Ship Entertainment (SSE), the City of Ottawa has retained a Canadian Standards Association (CSA) playground safety inspection consultant, certified by the Canadian Playground Safety Institute, to assist both in reviewing the designs and inspecting the final installations. I have been advised by operational staff that the CSA Standards for Children’s Play spaces and Equipment do not provide for any specifications or assessments for playgrounds located adjacent to public beaches or bodies of water.
That being said, I have been further advised by operational staff that in the early stages of this project, the proximity to the Ottawa River was reviewed by staff with aquatics experience who concluded that upon completion, the playground would not require fencing as the playground will be set back at a substantial distance from the shoreline. In fact, the distance will be approximately 42 meters or 132-185 feet from the Rideau River, depending on the precise point of measurement from the components of the structure. This assessment was based on the substantial distance between the edge of the proposed play structure and the waterfront as well as the fact that the City of Ottawa (and other municipalities) have play structures near water (some closer to water than the proposed Mooney’s Bay project) without any history of incident. In the examples present in Ottawa, over the last 20 years there has been no reported cases of drowning or near drowning at these locations.
Furthermore, I understand that various other play grounds situated in the National Capital Region are currently located in similar or closer proximity to water ways without fencing including the following:
- Walter Upton Collins Park (Ottawa): 198 feet to the Rideau River;
- Half Moon Bay Park (Ottawa): 185 feet to the local storm water pond;
- Strathcona Park (Ottawa), 185 feet to the Rideau River;
- Riverain Park (Ottawa), 102 feet to the Rideau River;
- Windsor Park (Ottawa), 285 feet to the Rideau River;
- Mooney’s Bay (Ottawa), 132-185 feet to the Rideau River;
- Moussette Park (Gatineau), 121 feet to the Ottawa River; and
- Des Cèdres Park (Gatineau), 147 feet to the Ottawa River.
It is important to note that as Mooney’s Bay is a public park, there are inherent risks assumed by all persons who enter onto the premises and use the beach and park areas, as with any other unsupervised municipal play structures and public parks within the City. This legal responsibilities of both the site’s owners and those who visit is more fully set out in the Occupiers Liability Act. With regard to the examples that were offered in your earlier correspondence, the following summary should suffice to distinguish them from the playground being proposed in this instance:
1st link – July 20, 2015, Peoria, Illinois: This incident apparently involved a play structure within less than 10 feet from waterfront;
2nd link– November 15, 2010, Grand Rapids, Michigan: This incident involved a play structure within less than 10 feet from waterfront, that also involved a steep bank towards water;
3rd link– June 23, 2014, Bronx River, New York: This incident involved two teens drowning in a river at high tide, however, no play structure was linked to the incident;
4th link– September 12, 2013, Tampa Bay, Florida: This incident involved a toddler drowning while at a sports field near a river while the parents were attending the game;
5th link– April 13, 2003 Barren Fork, Tennessee: This incident involved a toddler drowning from a boat dock located within less than 10 feet from a play structure;
6th link– Same as #1 above, just a different news agency; and
7th link– July 26, 2015, Edmonton, Alberta: This incident involved a toddler drowning with a play structure that was situated approximately 40 feet from shoreline. The additional risk factor in this scenario was that within 10-12 feet from edge of the play structure there is a very steep bank towards the water. It would seem that the child travelled the 10-12 feet from play structure to the edge of the bank and tumbled down the hill towards the water.
Finally, as stated within the Agreement, the playground will be inspected and certified to comply with CAN/CSA-Z614 Standards for Children’s Playspaces and Equipment, including the associated Annex H, to ensure that the playground is safe for its intended use.
I appreciate that this is not the response that you were seeking. However, I trust that these comments provide you with a more fulsome understanding of the City’s position on this matter.
Regards,
M. Rick O’Connor, CMO
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Follow City Hall reporter Jon Willing on Twitter at @JonathanWilling, on Instagram at @JonathanWilling and at ottawacitizen.com and ottawasun.com.
