By Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

New community playground opens at Lakeview Elementary School

Oct 12, 2018 | 11:36 AM

LETHBRIDGE – No more fighting for space to play at Lakeview Elementary School. A new playground built on school property is now one of the largest in the city.

A colourful new, $574,000 playground with a garden-like theme opened to the public Friday, complete with rubberized surfaces, connecting pathways, lots of climbing equipment, bridges and balancing apparatus.

Lakeview Elementary School Vice Principal Melanie McMurray says the former 22-year-old wooden playground couldn’t accommodate all of their students.

“Built for a student population close to 300, last year, the wooden structure was overwhelmed by the over 515 children from Kindergarten to Grade 5. This discouraged many children from playing on the playground, most notably perhaps our older students, who often would stay away from the play structure so as to allow the younger children room to play safely.”

The Lakeview Community Park Society spent the last four years fundraising, grant-writing, and volunteering, to bring the project from concept to reality.

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Funding came from several sources, including local businesses, the City of Lethbridge, the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta, Alberta Recycling and the Alberta Government.

The new playground is also accessible to anyone using a mobility device and will host a variety of programs including the YWCA and It’s a BLAST after-school care.