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Good rockin' ahead for Riley Park
By Sandra Thomas-Staff writer
It's intended to look like it fell from a glacier, but the nearly completed climbing rock at Riley Park was actually designed in North Vancouver.
The only one of its kind in Canada, the 12-foot rock is the brainchild of Ed and Allen Fischer, owners of The Edge climbing wall systems. The structure is part of the final phase of the Riley Park playground project, nearly eight years in the making.
Ed Fischer said when he heard last year that the Riley Park Community Association had put out a call for tenders for constructing a climbing wall and was considering a company from California, he asked for an opportunity to present his own design. The association liked it, and construction began March 8.
"This design is brand new this year," said Fischer, whose decade-old company has built at least 30 climbing and playground walls across B.C. and Alberta.
Called the "Erratic," the wall is a mushroom-shaped concrete, steel and fiberglass "rock," with an overhang and rounded top so kids can't climb onto it. The highest hand-hold is eight-feet up, so even if a child does fall, it's not too far to drop. About 30-feet in circumference, the rock is designed to be challenging for adults as well as children. Hand and footholds are colour-coded by difficulty and some are made in the shape of slugs, snails and lizards. Built-in ladder rungs make climbing for small children possible as well.
Because the rock is hand-sculpted on the grounds, the work is weather dependent and should be completed within the next two to three weeks. A grand opening is being planned for some time in April or May.
Fischer said the cost to build the rock, including site preparation is about $40,000, but because this is a prototype only available since January, the company only charged the association about $27,000.
Barb Laird, president of the Riley Park community association, said most of the money for the $250,000 playground project, including the climbing rock, was raised by the association through casino revenue, with only some municipal and provincial help, a move she feels is the wave of the future.
"Some community centres are in strong areas where the community can afford to donate, but we're not. With more cuts coming [from the parks board], we'll have to work hard to keep up programs."
Laird said one of the main goals of the project was to create an all-inclusive play area so children of all abilities can participate. With that in mind, some playground equipment was built lower to the ground so kids in wheelchairs can access it more easily.
"This project is beyond ramping, which is what you might normally see in a playground. What good is adult-height equipment going to do a child in a wheelchair or walker?"
Laird said because the project has taken so long, some of the original pieces of playground equipment already need to be replaced. Nonetheless, everyone associated with the project is excited about the climbing rock. "We wanted the playground to fit into the environment and look natural. The rock looks like part of the landscape."
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