Inch Park

children playing on amn accessible merry-go-round

Engage Hamilton

Inch Park Public Engagement

From July 17 to July 31 the public was asked to provide input on the 2 park designs, and the type of equipment that should be included in this new fun, inclusive play experience.

Review the Engagement Survey Results

Review the Public Engagement

Inch Park is located at 400 Queensdale Ave E in a residential area of Hamilton. The park is 4.7 ha in size and includes an indoor ice-skating arena, an outdoor swimming pool and wading pool with spray pad, six baseball diamonds, a batting cage, two tennis courts, a playground, swings, a sun shelter and two parking lots.

The park is bounded by Queensdale Ave E to the north, East 18th St to the east, Brucedale Ave E to the south and residential properties to the west.

The City of Hamilton has a history of investing in accessible amenities here with the aim of making Inch Park inclusive for all users with a focus on Challenger Baseball members. Hamilton Challenger Baseball Association (HCBA) hosts sports and social activities at Inch Park for players with special needs.

About the Park Project

Inclusive Play Space

Timeline & Progress

Documents

An inclusive play space is planned for the north-west corner of Inch Park. This space is envisioned to be a “park within a park”; a carefully designed, high-quality play space with a focus on accessible amenities that will be a recreational destination both for local Hamilton residents and those travelling from farther afield in search of a fun, inclusive play experience.

The finished playground will be a space that embraces the principles of inclusive design in a way that is more engaging than catalogue equipment pieces simply placed in a sea of flat rubber surfacing. The design will consider a variety of textures, play values, sensory experiences, changes in topography and plantings to create a play space that is truly unique and memorable for all.

The design process for the Inch Park play space is guided by the “Radically Inclusive” model for designing playgrounds championed by Harper’s Playground. “Radically Inclusive” playgrounds are:

Physically inviting: Is it accessible? And is it adaptive? Universal accessibility ensures that everybody can get everywhere and to everything. Adaptability means everything is designed to suit different conditions or needs.
Socially inviting: Is it natural? Is it communal? Nature provides a calming effect on our emotional and physical health, reducing fear, stress and anger. Open, communal spaces allow people to gather, connect and share.
Emotionally inviting: Is it thoughtful? Is it beautiful? Humans are impacted by their surroundings. Small, thoughtful details that provide comfort and delight the senses have a positive effect on a person’s wellbeing.

April - June 2023 - Concept design and stakeholder consultation.
July 2023 - Public Information Centre: Online survey to select the preferred play space design and vote on priorities for play equipment.
July 23 2023 - Public Information Centre: Accessibility Fair held at the Inch Park Arena. The play space designs and play equipment options will be available for the public to view and provide feedback.
August - September 2023 - Develop the selected concept design based on input gathered from the Public Information Centres and stakeholder consultation.
October 2023 - Public Information Centre: The final design will be presented.
November 2023 - December 2024 - Detailed design development, contract documents and public tender.
Spring to Summer 2025 - Construction.

Inch Park Inclusive Play Space Engagement Survey Results (PDF, 159.63 KB)Concept Drawings (PDF, 9.89 MB)Inch Park Design Option 1 Natural Discovery (PDF, 2.62 MB)Inch Park Design Option 2 Flowing Connections (PDF, 2.77 MB)Inch Park Inclusive Playspace - Selected Concept (PDF, 23.94 MB)Inch Park Illustration 1: Bird's eye view of the inclusive play space (File, 5.63 MB)Inch Park Illustration 2: Queensdale Ave entrance to the inclusive play space (File, 4.92 MB)Inch Park Illustration 3: Looking west into the inclusive play space (File, 5.5 MB)Inch Park Illustration 4: Inclusive play equipment (File, 4.71 MB)Inch Park Illustration 5: Inclusive embankment slide (File, 7.64 MB)

Date modified

September 23, 2024