Have you ever thought about opening your neighbourhood street so kids can play? You can find out by dropping by Charles St on Sunday April 29 from 3-5pm.
What is a Play-Street?
Play-Streets are temporary street openings that provide a safer space for kids and adults to be physically active while building community. They can be hosted by neighbours, schools, or community groups. To see a video of a successful Play Street,check out the example posted by the BBC. Play-Streets have been successful in communities like Bristol, UK, Toronto, Ontario and Seattle, Washington.
What Streets Work Best for a Play-Street?
Play-Streets work well on a variety of streets in all neighbourhoods with these characteristics:
- Residential-oriented streets with low volumes of traffic
- Not an arterial or bus route
- Significant neighbour support
- Limited access to parks/open space
- Significant youth participant interest
Play-Streets in Kingston
Kingston Gets Active put out a call for applicants to open their street for play. Successful applicants got to have a Play-Street on a day of their choosing during Kingston Gets Active Month in April 2018. This pilot project is assessing interest in implementing a Play-Streets model in Kingston, where the usual fee to open a street is covered and the paperwork is simplified. Drop by to see what it’s all about!
- Saturday, April 21: Cameron Street between Oak and 7th Ave; 3-6pm
- Sunday, April 29: Charles Street; 3-5pm.
Thanks to CIHR (Canadian Institutes of Health Research), KFL&A Healthy Kids Community Challenge, and Queen’s University for supporting this project.
