FORT ST. JOHN -- The City of Fort St. John has announced that the upgrades to Mathew's Park playground are complete.
In a statement, they said, “We know it took much longer than expected, but the new play equipment is ready to use.” The delay is due to supply chain challenges. The rubberized surface wasn’t installed up to specifications in the first round.
They are advising residents to watch for crews as they are still working on finishing up the landscaping around the playground areas. The parking lot is also nearly complete.
“It's nice to see people out and enjoying them. I know it's been open officially for a couple of days, but I know that there have been people using it kind of since last weekend,” explains Ryan Harvey, communication manager for the City of Fort St. John.
In 2016, they stated that the playground structure at Mathew’s Park had become dangerous. “We have repaired it several times trying to squeeze some extra life out of it but we have finally given up in favour of ensuring our children's safety. The playground is currently fenced off and will be removed in the next week or two.”
In 2022, over 300 people took part in the city’s Let’s Talk engagement sessions on improvements to local parts.
Following the feedback, they announced the city would be spending about $525,000 to upgrade Mathew’s Park. They installed rubberized tile surfacing to the equipment areas, upgraded the play structure and made the parking lot and trail connections more accessible by paving them.
The city says they still need to install the two half courts and six nets at the basketball court, which will be completed next year.
