Hamilton Mountain Coun. John-Paul Danko proposes $120,000 rock-climbing wall at Newlands Park

Hamilton Mountain Coun. John-Paul Danko wants youth to be adventurous instead of inside bubble wrap" while playing at a neighbourhood park.

The Ward 8 councillor is proposing to spend about $120,000 to construct a rock-climbing wall at Newlands Park that would be incorporated into the existing play structures.

We have been getting, in my opinion, overly sterilized attempts to remove that element or risk," said Danko during the Jan. 31 public works committee.

He said the rock-climbing structure would encourage children and youth to understand a little bit more risky play" so that they are not wrapped in bubble wrap. The benefits are really well documented; being able to develop risk assessment skills," he said.

Danko said such a structure is an educational opportunity for children to learn about failure and taking initiative. He says it also helps children's self-esteem.

It is something I am really excited about," said Danko. This is a well-designed structure. It is also designed to be safe."

Cynthia Graham, manager of landscape architectural service, assured councillors the structure would be installed to protect individuals who use it. A properly-rated safety surface, similar to ones that are already in place at play structures across the city, would be built, she said. About $60,000 would be used to design and install the structure, including signs, while the other half of the funding, to be taken from the Ward 8 capital reserve fund, would be used for the safety surface. The annual operating cost would be about $2,500.

These (rock climbing walls) are designed to be safe in an unstructured way," said Graham.

Kara Bunn, manager of parks, said the wall would be similar in height to the other existing play equipment.

It is not a huge climbing wall," she said.

Still, Danko's public works' colleagues were reluctant to approve the funding until they saw the design and even photos of a proposed rock-climbing wall. They wanted to defer Danko's motion until the next public works meeting.

This is obviously new information than I have had in the past," said Ward 5 Coun. Russ Powers.

Ancaster Coun. Lloyd Ferguson was also hesitant to green-light the project.

I'm not familiar with this technology at all," he said.

Danko, who agreed to wait until the next meeting for approval, said two other ward parks were considered for the rock-climbing structure, including Buchanan Park at 111 Columbia Dr. and Southam Park at 480 Upper James St. at the Claremont Access.

He said Newlands, located at 137 Lynbrook Dr., was selected because of its existing circular walking track and exercise equipment.

It is something that is a little bit new," said Danko. Something I am really excited about. This is a well-designed structure. I'm pretty excited about it."