{"id":37833,"date":"2026-03-26T16:14:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T20:14:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=37833"},"modified":"2026-03-26T16:15:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T20:15:06","slug":"residents-asked-to-weigh-in-on-renovations-to-atkinson-and-optimist-parks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/residents-asked-to-weigh-in-on-renovations-to-atkinson-and-optimist-parks\/","title":{"rendered":"Residents asked to weigh in on renovations to Atkinson and Optimist Parks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Aurora residents are being asked to weigh in on the future of two popular neighbourhood parks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Up for renovations this year are Atkinson Park, located on Twelve Oaks Drive in the southeast quadrant of St. John\u2019s Sideroad and Old Yonge Street, as well as Optimist Park, located on Birkshire Drive, which also serves as one of the northerly access points to the Aurora Community Arboretum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs part of the Town\u2019s Capital Asset Management Plan, the playgrounds at both parks are scheduled for renewal,\u201d said the Town of Aurora in a statement. Playgrounds typically have a lifecycle of approximately 20 \u2013 25 years. While all the playgrounds in Aurora are routinely inspected to ensure safety and quality, each site is renewed through a planned asset management cycle. In alignment with the Town\u2019s 10-yar Capital Plan, the playgrounds at Atkinson Park and Optimist Park are scheduled for replacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore designs are finalized, the Town wants to hear from the community. Community input plays an important role in shaping playground spaces that reflect the needs and interests of local families. Residents and visitors are encouraged to share what features they would like to see, whether that includes more swings, climbing structures, inclusive and accessible elements, sensory features, or spaces designed for different age groups.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents and other park users are asked to complete an online survey and provide additional feedback through the Town\u2019s Engage Aurora platform at engageaurora.ca\/Playgrounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInvesting in our parks and playgrounds is an investment in the wellbeing of every resident,\u201d said Mayor Tom Mrakas in a statement. \u201cWhen our community shares their feedback, it ensures we\u2019re building spaces that truly reflect their needs and creates safe, vibrant, and welcoming places where families can connect, play and thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aurora residents are being asked to weigh in on the future of two popular neighbourhood parks. Up for renovations this year are Atkinson Park, located on Twelve Oaks Drive in the southeast quadrant of St. John\u2019s Sideroad and Old Yonge Street, as well as Optimist Park, located on Birkshire Drive, which also serves as one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-9Qd","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-14 07:01:51","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37833"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37834,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37833\/revisions\/37834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}