Supervisor Bill Reilich is excited to announce that the Genesee Valley Recreation and Park Society has declared that the Town of Greece has won the 2017 Exceptional Park Design Award for the Kids Canyon Playground! This award is given annually to projects that demonstrate excellence in design of park amenities such as playgrounds, sports fields, trails, and linear parks.
The Kids Canyon Playground, which officially opened in July of 2017, is a 11,000 square foot nature-themed playground featuring precast cement sculptures, rocks and log climbers. The playground utilizes “linked play” which allows children to move across from feature to feature, encouraging more active, physical games than other types of standard playground equipment. Everything on the playground can be climbed on, which lends itself to “taking chances and building confidence”.
The latest technology was used when designing this playground to ensure the safest, most accessible surface while maximizing the level of fun. For example, the playground is installed with Hydro Chill, which is a synthetic turf cooling system that can reduce surface temperatures by 50 degrees. As the turf surface is heated by solar radiation, moisture stored in the turf is released, leaving a cooler, more comfortable surface. This allows for increased playing time and greater comfort and safety for playground users.
The Kids Canyon Playground is also the first playground in our region to use BIBA, which is interactive technology of augmented reality, imagination-driven playground games for parents to play with their children. The BIBA app is available on both iTunes and Google Play and is free to download. The app offers games such as treasure hunts and obstacle courses to keep kids engaged and active. Custom designed for our playground, BIBA follows a strict “90/10” rule, which ensures that kids are physically active for at least 90% of the game with only 10% of their attention being spent on the screen. There are “markers” installed on the playground, which are considered “play stations” where BIBA users can unlock new content, activate mini-games, and reveal new treasures, as well as enjoy obstacle courses.
“In July of 2017, we unveiled a one-of-a-kind playground to the community with the goal of creating a destination playground experience that would encourage families to come outside and play” said Supervisor Reilich. “Today, I am thrilled to receive on behalf of the Town of Greece and all of our wonderful residents the 2017 Exceptional Park Design Award for the Kids Canyon Playground!”