The expected life associated with a typical playground is 15 to 20 years, based on industry standards. As playground equipment ages, the risk of failure to various components of the playground structure increases. Each year, certified City of Windsor Parks staff inspect the playgrounds to ensure their safety. Unfortunately, if the playground is deemed to be unsafe or Parks administration is no longer able to order replacement parts to repair the components in question and they cannot be isolated from the structure, administration would be forced to immediately close off and remove the entire play structure. If a playground structure is deemed to be unsafe, the structure is removed until such time funding is identified and becomes available for replacement.

Also noted in the 2015 Playground Audit Report is the requirement to comply with the Accessibility to Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), standards which will assist in increasing the safety of our playgrounds. Sand is no longer acceptable for compliance with AODA standards for any new playground installations however, with proper maintenance sand still meets the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) guidelines for all existing playgrounds. Council approved that a rubberized surface should be used for all new and redeveloped playgrounds. This surface will comply with AODA standards. The use of safety surfacing under and around play equipment is required for impact attenuation as per the CSA guidelines. Staff from Parks, Asset Planning and the CAO's office worked together to adapt the Corporate Enterprise Risk Measurement tool for use specific to playgrounds. Overall rubber surfacing was shown to be least prone to failure. In general, rubber surface based playgrounds were the most expensive when considering only initial capital outlays. They did however exhibit the lowest ongoing operating and maintenance type costs over the life of the asset, and the lowest risk for use. Over the lifecycle of the playground (approximately 20 years), the City will get better value for its money by investing in the rubber based surface under all new playgrounds.

The Enhanced Capital budget in 2018 identified the request for new Rubber Surface Tiles under the existing playground in Gary Dugal Park in the amount of $124,000. A subsequent quote identified the cost to be closer to $136,000. This playground was an older unit and staff were not recommending to proceed due to the need to replace the entire unit in the immediate future. In that case, Administration had just tendered the replacement of the 27 playgrounds across the city, and due to the large order, had received very favourable pricing. As a result, there were enough funds to replace the entire unit (including rubber surfacing) at Gary Dugal Park (a medium sized unit), by using the funds received in the Enhanced Capital budget for the rubber tiles, along with available funds left in the capital budget to replace the 27 units.

Willistead Park playground is identified as a large size playground and the 2018 estimate of $136,000 for rubberized tiles is insufficient to cover the cost of surfacing and base preparation under a playground of this size. Estimated cost would likely range from $140,000 to $160,000 to cover the associated costs for surfacing and base preparation. The rubberized surface would only be used until such time as the entire playground structure gets replaced. Having said that, for similar reasons as the Gary Dugal playground, it is not recommended to proceed with replacing the surface under the existing Willistead playground. Although the replacement year is identified as 2023, the Manager of Parks Operations has indicated that it will likely need to be removed prior to the original projected replacement year, based on the current condition of the