Jul 30, 2010 - 04:30 AM

Melissa Mancini

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OSHAWA -- Playgrounds, water features, tennis courts, basketball courts and soccer fields.

They separate one Oshawa park from another. Each park has different features, depending on size and area of the city.

In 1997 and 2001, many playgrounds in Oshawa were overhauled. It was the first time many places had makeovers since the early 90s, said Bill Slute, Oshawa's manager of park services.

The changes meant saying goodbye to old-style wood play structures which were no longer up to safety standards, he said. Many were replaced with metal structures that are virtually carbon copies of each other, Mr. Slute said.

Now when park structures are torn down and replaced, officials try to do something different in each park, Mr. Slute said. There's Grandridge with its bright orange play structure and the current rehabilitation of North Oshawa Park which will have unique features, he said.

When a park is replaced now, more attention is given to how children play when structures are designed, Mr. Slute said.

"Now there are structures that are very unique with a lot of thought put into them."

The traditional structures, which were mostly dedicated to swinging and sliding, now have added features which try to appeal to a child's imagination, such as animal-shaped toys to climb on. There is also more thought given to children with varying abilities and at different ages, Mr. Slute said.

Field grass follies

President of the Oshawa Kicks soccer league, Will Thurber, hears it all the time: the grass is too high for soccer.

But grass height means fewer weeds will grow now that pesticides are not allowed, said Bill Slute, Oshawa’s manager of park services.

“It’s all because of the ban on pesticides,” Mr. Slute said. “If you mow too short, you provide an access point for weed seeds.”

The City cuts soccer fields to a three-inch height, which is proven through research to yield fewer weeds, Mr. Slute said. He added the City has been ahead of a provincial ban and started to eliminate the pesticides about 10 years ago.

Mr. Thurber said the grass could be cut shorter and points to research he said proves weeds will still be thwarted by grass at 2.5 inches. Besides slowing down the game, higher grass heights mean more injuries in young players, he said.

These are the people in your neighbourhood ... association

Many parks, including Bathe, Valleywood, Connaught, Kingside, MacKenzie and Southmead, have neighbourhood associations.

Since 1946, the Oshawa Central Council of Neighbourhood Associations has organized recreational sports (softball, soccer and hockey) for the children of Oshawa. These programs are operated by the Neighbourhood Association Sports Committee, which is a sub-committee of the neighbourhood associations.

Neighbourhood associations also fill other functions, including renting out clubhouses in parks for special events and watching for any issues in the park, Kingside president Doug Kilpatrick said.