Magic School Bus Stops at Oxford Street School

This playground is a little island in the midst of heavy commuter traffic feeders. Located on the grounds of Oxford School one block east of where Chebucto Rd. and North St. merge (map), the playscape was made over in late 2009. Now how about a reality show on makeovers of past their due date, too weary for years playgrounds? This Old Playground would take an insider’s look at the lobbying, fundraising, design considerations, community activism and the actual building required to put a new playground together.

The new shine (photos) hasn’t worn off since the kids had their first try outs in this community playspace last November. That’s one of the reasons that this playground can be a very busy spot. On a recent afternoon drop in, there were two or three after school groups, dismissed students from Oxford as well as pre-schoolers and toddlers from the surrounding neighbourhood. Even though the footprint of the playspace is relatively compact, it didn’t seem too crowded with upwards of 30 kids ricocheting around the equipment.

The life saver coloured steering wheels to the stars monkey bars (above) and the sproingy spring school bus are popular items with the kids. We have not encountered either of these at other locations. The bus sports the red, green and gold colours of Jah Rastafari and it’s easy to imagine its open air funkiness wheeling down country lanes in Jamtown. The strong breeze in the air rustles the tree canopy and whispering leaves momentarily transport us out of the heart of the city and into the Caribbean’s hot bake sun.

There is an obstacle course’s worth of climbing and balancing stations – enough to serve as a primer for any kid who is thinking about a career as a gymnast, or circus performer. A vertical ladder goes straight up to nowhere. An unadorned, slender vertical pole rises to a height of about 10 feet. It is surrounded by three shorter, thicker poles of varying heights – for stepping, jumping? Then there is a climbing apparatus reminiscent of caterpillar tents that beckons a conquest so high that kids can nearly touch the sky. Parallel bars and a zigzag balance beam round out this theme. A list of suggested exercises for this equipment is displayed on framed poster size all weather material.

The central structure’s downward zoom is a blue three laner slide – great for races on busy days. There are several access points for this piece including stairs, wood and chain ladder, a climbing wall and a pole for those with the upper body strength to shinny up. An arched billy goat gruff bridge joins the platform at the top of the stairway to the slides. Also attached to this structure is the stationary log rolling challenge complete with handles just in the event that you can’t quit maintain your balance.

There is pea gravel throughout and basketball courts adjacent. There is some shade around the perimeter of the playground but no benches. Parking is available at the school in the Willow St. cul-de-sac. There is fencing around much of the playground. Note this is a heavy traffic corridor. This playspace is more suited for pre-schoolers and older though toddlers would certainly enjoy the bus ride and perhaps the slides.

All materials, unless otherwise attributed or credited, copyright ⓒ 2010 Alex Smith.

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