BREWERS PARK PLAYGROUND

What’s a brewing at Brewers’ Park? A new playground, that’s what!

Reopened on Mother’s Day weekend, this highly anticipated playground features “Greenville” equipment designed by the German based company Berliner-Seilfabrik.

Most popular is the super slide that encourages assessment of risky play as one sizes up the 15ft climb up and the 20ft-ish slide down (approximate numbers here, I didn’t bring a measuring tape!)

There are two trampolines here, which are always a hit and one is near a concrete ledge, which some kids figured out can be a jumping point for some big leaps.

There is much to climb here as the rope nets connect the bottom play hut to the slide as well as rubber membrane steppers. These rubber mats (or “kombu hammocks” as I once nicknamed) are the exact same ones at the Crosstown Elementary school playground.

Other elements include a net basket, all natural log towers and a popular water table in the sand area.

Strangely, the swings have been installed exceptionally low but should be fixed in the near future. Currently they are too low to swing on but kids were seen standing and balancing on the seats instead. (EDIT: They’ve been fixed!)

While the actual park is still under construction, the basketball and tennis courts are also available for play. Nearby is a brand new community garden with a bright yellow entrance way.

The fieldhouse is currently unavailable due to construction but it looked like some port-a-potties were on site.

Early parent feedback of Brewers Park playground: 

Early feedback from parents have been about the lack of shade, causing both the metal slide and rubber mats to reach uncomfortable temperatures. The City has tried to mitigate it by facing the slide northwards and planting a young tree beside it, but the tree will more likely provide shade in time for our future grandchildren. Like most playgrounds with rubber surfacing, it also retains heat and unfortunately is producing a lot of off-gassing. 

Additional feedback was about the slide and how the top platform is quite small, causing children to bottleneck while waiting for their turn down the slide. Younger children can accidentally step backwards and slip from the a tight space. Many children like to climb up the large slide as well, adding to the traffic jam. The enclosed space above doesn’t help the situation, as those slide-climbers can’t see just how many people are waiting up top.

My 6 year old’s review: “The super slide was super! And it was super crowded.”

Have you visited Vancouver’s newest playground rebuild? What did you think?