(STEVE BONSPIEL THE EASTERN DOOR)
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Kids will have to wait a little bit longer to play and enjoy the new sensory playground currently being built in Sesame Park.
According to MacKenzie Whyte, the interim director at the Sports and Recreation Unit at the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK), the construction of the playground that started in July was more complex than originally anticipated.
“We had a very complicated situation,” said Whyte. “I remember one day there were 150 loads of soil to move. We had multiple contractors.”
But the soil had to be removed before the work could progress to the next stage of the construction.
“Currently, the playground is put together. The fall protection is all there, so if somebody wants to use it, it is safe,” she said.
However, she stressed that the children must remain inside the playground because it is still considered an active construction zone.
“We have the slab up, but we haven’t installed the ping pong tables and the mini-putt pieces yet,” said Whyte.
Whyte said that they are also planning on building a fence around the entire park.
“We have to adjust the slope slightly of the mini-putt so we can have some grass on a certain portion, and we won’t have to build a retaining wall,” she said.
Next spring, a service building with a bathroom will be built. Whyte said that there will also be a concession stand where water and snacks will be sold.
“Aside from the bathroom, most of the work next year will be cosmetic. There will also be some landscaping as well,” said Whyte.
A sensory playground is similar to a regular playground, but it is made in such a way that it creates opportunities for children to interact with each other.
Part of the reason the playground was conceived was to combat social isolation, so it naturally creates areas where kids can play together. A lot of the equipment revolves around rotation and spinning, according to Whyte.
“At the mini-putt, they are building a concrete sidewalk, which is going to be put up next year too,” she said.
As the construction season wraps up, Whyte said that her goal is to officially open the park the first weekend after the end of the school year.
And even though the park does not have an official name yet, Whyte said that they are strongly leaning towards Sesame Park.
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