Nestled between Inverness Rd and Scotia Rd just off Cloverdale Ave, Rutledge Park is a lovely, well-kept strip of urban-park. There is nice landscaping, lots of grass, a tennis court, parking on either side and a rather good little playground.
On a gravelly sand base there is the usual double big kid, double toddler swing combo, two bouncy things, a twirly thing and a climbing structure that is really aimed at the smaller kids- though it has a decent height of slide. It's a newer piece with several platform steps up, activity wall features, a tiny rope climbing wall and the aforementioned curved plastic slide.
The most interesting feature at this playground is the arched climbing...thing- need to think of a name for it. It's definitely for the bigger kids, 'A' took a stab at it and was caught like a fly in a web within one minute which required some untangling. We are seeing more and more of this kind of climbing structure appear which is great as they use the latest playground technology to create the most amount of playing options in a condensed space. Oh my...I sound like a magazine or worse still, an instruction manual. I'll get back to the playground...... So anyway, the climbing arch has lots to climb up and down and even a plastic hammock in case one gets tired halfway up.
Overall this is a surprisingly nice park and playground considering that it's in such a central location between pretty busy roads (Blanchard and Quadra are both stone throws away....if you can throw really well).
Okay, okay, so I can't finish off without mentioning the elephant in the room...or the park in this case. Yes, there is actually an elephant.....a large, pink elephant with no obvious purpose other than to provoke the question, what's that for?
Answers on a postcard please..............
The elephant is for pinecone storage, of course! Actually, I really don't know what it's for, but every time we've taken a close look at it, there are a ton of pinecones underneath it... sounds like something my daughter would do, lol.
ReplyDeleteOur daughter just turned 2, and we often visit this park. Lots of stuff to do, and the climbing/slide structure is small and secure enough (ie: no gaping holes or gaps at the top of high platforms) that even when she was younger, I felt perfectly safe when she climbed it.
I played at this park as a kid so know that a pink elephant has been there for at least 35 years. We still call it 'pink elephant park'. I remember the city painted the elephant a proper gray colour one year but soon came to their senses and returned the elephant to its pink glory.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy!
The elephant has been there since the "olden days"...as I remember it when I was a kid (40 now).
ReplyDeletePerhaps people didn't want to see it go when the park underwent it's reno? We are a nostalgic group, us native Victorians ;)