Martensville opens largest rubber-surfaced playground in Saskatchewan

Kids putting on their shoes to go to a newly resurfaced playground at Lions Park in Martensville will in fact be playing on other people’s shoes.

A piece of the equipment at the rubber-surfaced playground in Martensville. (Shercom/Submitted)

According to Shercom, the playground features the recycled remains of the soles of 13,000 pairs of shoes, which were used to create the colours in the playground. That technology is known as Playtop with Nike Grind.

The surface also includes rubber from 10,000 recycled tires. Some 220,000 pounds of used tires were diverted from the landfill to be used in the playground.

The facility, which received a $52,580 donation from Shercom, is the largest rubber-surfaced playground in the province at 13,500 square feet. It’s also the largest playground to utilize Playtop with Nike Grind in Canada.

“In a new world where we see so many pressures to do the right thing and be the best stewards of the planet, by finding new innovative ways to reuse and repurpose old end-of-life materials, this playground is an example of just that,” Shercom chief operations officer Mike Richards said during the opening ceremonies for the playground.

Shercom partnered with the Lions Club and Kal Tire on the project, which also offers accessible playground equipment for children with physical disabilities.

A piece of the equipment at the rubber-surfaced playground in Martensville. (Shercom/Submitted)

“(With) elements like the rubber animals and Playtop with Nike Grind spheres, children can touch and play on elements that are more than the typical metal and plastic climbers and slides,” Richards said in his speech.

The playground also features the Playtop Street interactive electronic game, which allows kids and adults alike to play games like Wipeout and Chaos Tennis.

The use of the 10,000 recycled tires means that Martensville — with a population of about the same number — is tire neutral, thanks to the playground.

“There have been other communities in Saskatchewan that have achieved this accomplishment, but Martensville is in fact the first city,” Richards said during his speech.

Some of the equipment at the new playground in Martensville, which features the remains of 10,000 tires and 13,000 pairs of shoes. (Shercom/Submitted)