Living in Aurora, Town of Aurora, Ontario » Solutions

Sunday Break, Dandelions Are Masters Of Survival, Not Kidding

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Sun, 27 May 2012 04:36:18 +0000

Sunday photo showcase. All posts titled Sunday Break are photo(s) only and a quote. Posted photos may not be necessary the most current one and as always it is all about the Town of Aurora. Enjoy!

Dandelions, Things You Did Not Know

‘Dandelions are masters of survival’ ~ Read More … Recommended

The Still Pumping Heart Of The Wells Street School

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 04:24:47 +0000

As I walked outside around the school I heard cracking noises in the pipes and walls. There was no one inside, perhaps a ghost. Perhaps not – it was the still pumping heart, the gas fired steam boiler that was rumbling and keeping the school alive.

Gas Fired Steam Boiler. Wells Street Public School

So let me tell you more about the school, this time a bit of technical stuff.

There is a bit of photographic art everywhere and I found some in the basement of the former Wells Street Public School (Wells Street Schoolhouse Lofts), the boiler room. The deterioration probably due to moisture, rusted piping, chipped paint and the architecture of the plumbing system that drew me in. The engineering part of the system is an added bonus.

Piping, Wells Street Public School

Last time I have seen something like that was on a much bigger scale. It was the underground heating system of the University of Toronto when we had the opportunity to see it during our thermodynamics course in the third or fourth year of engineering. And who would thought that years later I would come face to face with the similar boiler unit, but this time for a different purpose.

Piping, Wells Street Public School

So everything has life expectancy and so does the overall mechanical equipment of the school.

The heating heart of the school is still going – the gas fired steam boiler installed back in 1949. However, according to the inspection reports I read the boiler is approaching its theoretical life and as you can see it is strongly showing signs of deterioration.

Gas Fired Steam Boiler. Wells Street Public School

There is currently no air conditioning in the school, and I am assuming that the school was only cooled via the radiators just by passing the cold water.

That boiler will be history once the school is converted to lofts and there will be a new heating system installed. From my observations it looks like the gas fired steam boiler was assembled inside the basement, and as per Ms. Birch, it will be taken out the same way – just disassembled.

Radiators, Wells Street Public School

So it all started with the crack in the wall.

According to the reports the building is in the poor electrical conditions as well. It is working fine, but it has surpassed its anticipated service life. Same as interior lighting fixtures, heating and cooling piping systems, the heating systems radiators and few fin-tube cabinets were problematic over recent years and also have surpassed their useful service life. And then the gas piping system, plumbing piping systems, and the heat recovering ventilation.

Radiators, Wells Street Public School

Renewal was recommended, and did not look cheap either in addition this could have been disruptive process for the students and the teachers.

There were many other things that needed fixing. The report was lengthy and probably boring to write and it made me laugh when I saw that there was ‘water damaged mirror‘ and ‘soup dispensers appear to be in fair conditions‘, in reference to the condition of the washrooms.

I am not sure if it is now as the temperature sky rocked in the past few days, but when I was visiting the school last month the school was heated. I experienced blast of heat coming out the roof entrance when I did my photographic round from the roof of the school.

I guess the school needed to be maintained after was closed and the owners are doing great job in order to reduce chances of further deterioration of the school.

Radiator In The Closet Room, Wells Street Public School

The fix wasn’t cheap and decline in the enrollment were the closing factors: ‘Over the years, Wells Street Public School has experienced a gradual decline in its enrollment but the Board has directed overflow enrolment from other schools in the area to maintain its viability.‘ – Dave Cooke wrote in the Facilitator’s Report for Wells Street Public School.

Water Piping, Wells Street Public School

For those who attended the school it always will be a school, the memories always last forever. Let us not forget that. Let us not forget that everything has life expectancy as well and we must accept the change. After all, I think we are lucky that the building will stand.

‘Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change – this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress.’ ~ Bruce Barton

Thinking About Safety, An Accident On St. John’s Sideroad, Not First Probably Not Last

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 03:56:37 +0000

Many times it crossed my mind. The ‘it’ is that the St. John’s sideroad is a busy road not just for the motorized vehicles but as well for parents/caregivers walking with their children, walkers, dog walkers, runners and bikers.

St. John's sideroad, Boardwalk

Over 15 years living in the area St. John’s sideroad undergone major transformation – residential development along, schools, addition of major supermarket, water treatment facility, road widening, Community Arboretum and addition of the boardwalk.

Not to mention, all this happened between Yonge Street and Bayview. The transformation was definitely to accommodate increased population and preferably the drivers.

GO Train, St. John's sideroad

Going down the memory lane, I remember this small dead end street right across the St. Andrew’s golf course where we used to go and watch the Canada Day fireworks. Many used that area as dumping ground as well. It was the bare land then.

Atkinson Park, St. John's sideroad, Boardwalk

The nice thing about my neighborhood is that parks, playgrounds, schools and shopping can be accessed via non-motorized means. When weather permits I take Matthew for long walks to the nearby playgrounds, boardwalk, the Arboretum and shopping to the Superstore.

I also have noticed that I am not the only one, especially the increased number of caregivers in our neighborhood taking children to playgrounds or schools in the strollers or just walking with them (they can’t drive, probably not allowed). There is really no point to drive where everything is under your nose.

So I went off on a tangent. Yes, yes, the ‘it’ continuation. St. John’s sideroad has history of accidents. We don’t have to see the accident, but we can see the aftermath results – damaged curbs, damaged guardrails, damaged speed signs, damaged posts, damaged grass, or broken car body parts. Over the few years I have seen it all.

Walking along the busy St. John’s sideroad do I watch my back? Of course. How can you not, knowing that accidents happened there. This confirms my fear.

Knocked Guards, Boardwalk, St. John's sideroad

Last weekend there was accident on the St. John’s sideroad.

A Honda car drove towards the boardwalk knocking couple of guarding posts. Probably a combination of black ice, slopped road and speeding car. To be exact the accident happened near the entrance of the Nokiida Trail boardwalk, a second observation deck on the North side of the road.

Knocked Guards, Boardwalk, St. John's sideroad

So I said above to ‘accommodate increased population and preferably the drivers’. Well when Superstore rose from the ground the driving customers definitely were given the preferential treatment.

I wrote about my request to the town to install a sidewalk on the side of the Earl Stewart Drive so parents pushing strollers will not use the road to access or leave the property. Many months passed and I have not seen any activity from the town. I would have thought that if there is a safety concern then such item would have been flagged immediately – I guess not. I will check with them in the spring.

Perhaps I will talk my five cents on safety. Drivers need to be more responsible and obey the rules. We got to stop designing roads and considering safety last. Pedestrians and moving vehicles should be as far as possible from each other.

Cost effective band-aid solution such as more safety signs don’t work anymore. I prefer more law enforcement people. But then even with police traps drivers do speed along St. John’s sideroad. It all boils down to the driver’s responsibility behind the wheel – Be Responsible Be Aware Around You.

Christmas Tree Collection, Oh What A Shame, Short Life Of The Christmas Tree

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 02:43:51 +0000

Christmas tree collection notices are out in town. On the town’s site the message is to remove all decorations, nails, tree stands and plastic tree bags.

Ensure that the tree is not buried under the snow because town will not pick it up: ‘Please note that crews are unable to dig out a tree or climb a snow bank to retrieve a tree.‘ Cut the tree into pieces if necessary.

Christmas Tree Collection

Every year in Canada millions of trees are cut down to be displayed for Christmas in our houses. It is such a shame that we take away a full grown tree away from the nature for that purpose. We put the Christmas tree on life support for three weeks. We hang extra decoration weight.

If I had a choice to be a tree no matter how prestige my purpose was – I would never want to be a Christmas tree. It just seems such a waste to grow a beautiful full size tree just for that purpose.

Evergreen Trees, Hamilton Park

I don’t meant to be a Grinch or a Scrooge. We have Christmas tree at home but artificial one. We all can have that option and the tree can be beautiful as the real one. You will save yourself money in the long run plus more.

Then there is the environmental benefit in the long run. Evergreen trees improve air quality. Trees evolved to remove CO2 from the atmosphere thus they are also good at removing pollutants.

In addition … ‘Tree canopies intercept and capture rainfall, reducing the amount that reaches the ground. In urban and suburban settings, a single deciduous tree can intercept between 500 and 760 gallons per year, while a mature evergreen can intercept over 4,000 per year.‘ – Source.

Wouldn’t be just good to have the evergreen tree seedling planted on your lawn and every Christmas to decorate a bit.

A Decorated Tree, Rush Road, Aurora

It is not like you go to the forest and cut down your own tree. I am sure you already know that all the evergreen trees are farmed, but did you know that all the farmed evergreen trees are also treated with pesticides?

You know that if you bite an apple and there is no worm, the apple tree has been sprayed. If you brought home a Christmas tree and you haven’t found any bugs in your house, most likely the tree farm is using pesticides to remove all the insects off the tree before they get to your house.

After tree is removed from your home it is recycled and back to the soil, with what, of course with the pesticide.

It is not that hard to figure out that I am hinting for the artificial Christmas tree option. It is all in your hands. Above are some of the hints I presented and I am sure someone may argue back why real Christmas tree is much more environmentally friendly. Believe me, I already did my research in that area too, but still I think that the artificial tree for holiday season is a better option. In the long run its $50 or $100 in your pocket. Think about it.

Aurora Strategic Plan, Sustainable Communities, How? High Density Housing

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:52:59 +0000

Building sustainable community in the Town of Aurora, a community that promotes sustainable living by reducing use of Earth’s natural resources, is my next topic for the Aurora’s 2031 Strategic Plan.

We all know that the idea of sustainable community or living is not new. With all the buzz of climate change around the world (too hot or too cold), we know that change must take place as soon as right now. We all must act together, but remember the sustainable living starts at home and then spreads out.

The Ridgewood, Aurora

In 20 years I will be 60. My goal in 20 years is to go back to even more sustainable living, as far as back to my early childhood years where my sole means of commuting was walking. Walking to school, to store, to church or to a bus station as far as 3 km away from home. Even biking wasn’t an option – it was always the eldest child who was granted a bike, and it wasn’t me.

I read an article in the Auroran yesterday, Wells Street facade is utmost priority school owner says [The Auroran, Week of November 22, 2011, pg 1,8] about future of the Wells Street Public School.

Wells Street Public School, Aurora

The local newspaper reported: ‘Joanne Birch … form Wells Street Schoolhouse Lofts, told The Auroran that the new owners were attracted to the heritage building both for the beauty of the building itself and the opportunity to build in Aurora as a well known community. Aside from the building itself and the Town in which it stands, Ms. Birch said her company was also attracted by additional amenities including the proximity to Yonge Street shopping, GO Transit, and being so close to the idyllic Town Park.’

Good start. Good thinking. A first step to sustainable community living on the Wells Street. We need more builders or developers to think like that.

We have 20 years to build and we also have data from the past to work with. A perfect example is the closing of Foodland store on the St. Andrews plaza on October 29, 2011 and leaving local residents with no other grocery store close by, especially elderly that commute by public transportation.

Foodland, Now Closed, Aurora

If you note my first paragraph, I said sustainable community and not communities. Yes, I want to see in 2031 for the Aurora to be one sustainable community, an integration of sustainable sub-communities or a network of sub-communities. We need to all work together.

The best part comes is how do we achieve this. It will not happen overnight, so we must act now. Even with the Strategic Plan in the horizon, the change must start. We don’t want to start building the sustainable community in 2031, we want to be sustainable community then.

Hollandview Trail, Retirement Community, Aurora

What I have in mind is to introduce (for future developments) more of high-density housings and putting limit on the population growth to secure more green space. I am not asking for sky scrapers, but something that will reduce the residential footprint leaving us with more natural land around.

Some may argue that it may increase traffic on the roads, but not if residents get access to the basic amenities within a walking distance.

For example, a grocery store, a medical/dental office, a restaurant/food court, a bus station, more bike racks, access to walking /hiking /biking paths, all must be part of the residential development project. Stores can easily be build underground as they are above. The idea is not to attract visitors from outside especially those who drive. Residents must have an option to commute to work/school by bus, bike or even walk. Many of them may even work within their living community.

I know, I know – we already have few similar places in Aurora but they are just shops – how many times will I need a wedding gown compare to a bag of milk. Just once in a life time for the gown but – milk every week. You tell me what is more beneficial.

The Ridgewood, Aurora

The message is clear that we need rules, by-laws and plans implemented to build future Aurora sustainable community. It may not be possible with current developed Aurora, but there is still lot of potential land to be developed and I hate to see being carelessly filled.

Aurora Strategic Plan, Plant The Innovation Seed, Promote Business Growth

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 03:57:29 +0000

Aurora Strategic Plan for 2031 is a very nice concept. I think it is really good to plan for the future or to have long term goals. However, I just hope that we do not go under the spell of writing this great list of things to do and never achieve them.

Mural, Wellington Street

What I have seen for now, the Aurora Strategic Plan is just a shell design, no substance yet. String of words do sound very flowery for now, but will they bloom like that 20 years from now in 2031. My suggestion – have few solid ideas and keep them simple.

It is nice to see that Town of Aurora is getting local public involved. Since this is a strategic plan, I think information should be conveyed in the same manner. I don’t need to see draft material. Current draft presented is a typical process outline. Do we need to see this? I don’t know, seems incomplete and not professional. Even the forums are not taken seriously by the residents.

I don’t know may be I just have different or odd way of thinking, but I don’t understand why do we need separate website just for the strategic plan. It should have been part of the current Aurora site. It is nice that communication department is trying to communicate every detail but why spend extra taxpayers money on such. Why are we branding the Aurora Strategic Plan? I cannot see the purpose.

If the Aurora Strategic Plan team thinks that more and complicated is better, boy they are wrong. Even websites need to be strategically planned to convey the information.

Mural, Wellington Street

The Aurora Strategic Plan execution gives me something to think about though. So once in the blue moon I will be presenting some ideas I have.

Well, 20 years is lot of years. In 20 years you can get nice grown tree, therefore, this may be the time to plant the seeds. I am not really talking about growing real trees here, but this will be a topic of mine later because we definitely need more shade trees.

We need to plant the innovation seed. We need the schools, businesses and town to be involved in more scientific and engineering fields. Let me explain as simple as possible.

Mural, Canada Arm, Wellington Street

Science and engineering fairs sponsored by the local businesses and the Town of Aurora for the Aurora schools.

Sometimes we underestimate young minds and little initiation for innovation from businesses would help to surface some great ideas students may have and give economic benefit to everyone.

This is my train of thoughts.

Town of Aurora and local businesses together collaborate and organizes annual science and engineering fair.

Students from Aurora schools pick a business to work with.

A project idea is assigned to student(s) by the business.

End result new product, enhanced product, efficient process etc – project ideas can be endless.

Participating students are rewarded for their accomplishments.

Since the business provides all the tools for the student(s) to work with, business owns the idea.

If the idea is sound, then it is implemented.

Business grows. Student(s) may have future summer jobs or full time jobs with that company.

Business grows, Town of Aurora is happy.

There is no restrictions, Town of Aurora can participate with their projects too.

I think these are self explanatory steps to drive more business or business growth. We need business that will stay. I was driving on the Industrial Parkway the other day and there are just too many signs for lease. Just too many buildings empty.

So I thought I will present one of my crazy ideas to push the business growth forward. I like long therm growth and this process may be something good to start today.

Mural, Wellington Street

This may also be good for students and their future. Start early introduction to real work, keep them out of trouble. Kids always look for challenge why not give them more.

We do it with art, why not do the same with the science. Something to think about.

Mural, Wellington Street

Who Lives On My Street, A Town Official, A Girlfriend? Job Well Done

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 03:47:32 +0000

Broken or damaged sidewalks make great art, but they also tell a story. One more week and September will be gone. Just few weeks ago there was a great deal of work done on the sidewalks just in time for back to school. Buses were checking their routs a day before the school. Contractors were finishing up sidewalk constructions.

Back To School, Bus Practicing Rounds

On our street contractors worked effortlessly to replace two sidewalk sections, long stretches in fact. It was just few days before the Labour weekend that all the heavy work started. I thought that they will not be able to complete the work, but they did. A day before the school started the sidewalk concrete slabs were all dried and ready to step on.

Construction Sidewalk Work

I was very surprised that those pieces, at least two sections at once in two spots were replaced. We have been walking on them all summer long and I have not seen any cracking or difference in height. May be there was something – they were marked bright pink and replaced.

Unfortunately, the construction workers did not manage to cover telephone or cable lines completely. I am sure residents who have those new sidewalks in front of their houses already reported the issue. It may not be an issue now, but later for the sidewalk snowplow.

So we have a joke on our street. In the winter we laughed many times with our neighbors. Some think that the snowplow driver’s girlfriend lives on our street. It makes you think, may be it is true. The snowplow driver always does a wonderful job plowing, spreading sand and driving around at least three times to make sure its all clean.

What I want to know, who really lives on our street? Really.

Cracked Sidewalk on Rush Road

The other day I was walking the streets in our subdivision. We have two, my street and adjacent street. The adjacent street is Rush Road. One thing I can tell you though that no town official lives on that street, or a relative or a girlfriend.

Sidewalk Step, Rush Road

As I was walking I saw a sidewalk cracked right across. How can someone miss that? I don’t know. No pink marking on that slab.

As I was walking further there was another sidewalk slab raised, at least one inch. That cannot be good for the sidewalk snowplow at all. No pink marking on that slab either.

Sidewalk Step, Rush Road

Forgotten, not important, no one to look after, no girlfriend, and no town official resident. Sidewalk remains cracked and no one seems to complain about the high step on one of the sidewalk slabs.

Kidding aside, town’s criteria for determining which sidewalk piece will be replaced is not clear at all, or there is none.

A Sidewalk Will Be Installed In The Future, Safety Concern Almost Resolved

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:47:45 +0000

The results are in for the requested sidewalk I blogged about before in the following published posts: A Practical Mother’s Day Gift To Come, Hopefully and National Access Awareness Week In Aurora, A Sidewalk.

I expressed my concern to the Superstore in Aurora and to the Town of Aurora about the safety of the pedestrians who access the store property, mainly pedestrians such mothers with strollers.

For three years I walked from St. John’s Sideroad and Pinnacle Trail at least once or twice a week along with my son to the the Superstore and accessed the store from the North-West corner. To access the Superstore property I had to either push the stroller against oncoming traffic along the East side of Earl Stewart Drive, or push the stroller on the grass on the same side of the street. In both cases accessing and leaving the Superstore property was difficult and unsafe.

Last Friday I was able to photograph one more case to many others I have seen, a mother with double stroller leaving the Superstore property. In this example, she is actually using side of the road with cars driving beside her in the same direction to get to the lights.

Pedestrian, North-West Side of the Superstore

I was very pleased with the result, the time it took to resolve this matter and how it was handled by the Accessibility Advisor. The Town of Aurora Infrastructure and Environmental Services division has reviewed the concern and recommendations, and determined that a sidewalk can eventually be placed within the Town’s property line. At this point the Works Department is in charge.

Pedestrian, North-West Side of the Superstore

As more residents of Aurora are commuting by public transportation and walking, the safety and ease of pedestrian access to properties must be considered. My general recommendations to the Accessibility Advisory Committee in the letter were as follows to emphasize the importance accessing the property and not just the building itself:

1. Access to retail properties must be designed for pedestrians as well as drivers.
2. Pedestrian access must include people with physical challenges.
3. People with physical challenges must include parents with strollers.

Pedestrian, North-West Side of the Superstore

Unfortunately, the Superstore has a very poor accessibility all around. Both North-West and North-East side especially do not have properly constructed access. The ease and safety on the North-West side will be resolved by the town in the near future. The North-East side of the store already has sidewalk, so technically speaking it is safe. However, the ease to access the store property is not. This may not go well in the future residents on the other side of Bayview Avenue.

Pedestrian, North-West Side of the Superstore

It is sad to say that ‘the customer is always right‘ saying not always works. The customer is only right when there is monetary spending on the customer side, but when the vendor is paying to make the customer happy, often there is a communication break up.

To conclude let me share with you this story. I always wanted to share it, and this time fits perfectly in the whole accessibility scenario. Few years ago we had a family of skunks (three of them) on our backyard. The animal services told us that by law they cannot remove them. They recommended to make the access to the property difficult, and they will leave on their own. We did, and they left our property, probably to other property that had an easy access.

Something to think about. I guess.

Last Week The Hottest Days In Years, Noise Pollution

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 20:37:49 +0000

It was hot – sizzling hot and humid. Last week, especially Thursday was the hottest day in years. Here in Aurora we were lucky as the skies were overcast most of the time during the peak hour, and that kept our house cooler. Our temperature inside the house is set between 27-28 C all summer long.

That day zooming in and out through our patio door was good one way, and not so cool the other way. Coming out felt like walking into the blast of heat from a fireplace, and coming into the house felt like walking into the fridge. I am sure there was at least 10 degrees difference.

Now you may ask, what does the noise pollution has to do with the hot days? No, not the road traffic noise. Air crafts making their usual runs. The punctual train noise is always there. No not any of that stuff is in my mind right now.

I dislike the air conditioner noise. I dislike continuous noise. I have been exposed few times to no noise in my life, and no noise was always my preference. For 14 years of my life I live in the house with no central cooling or heating system. We had ways to beat the hot or cold days in the year. Going away up to the cottage or camping with friends we always enjoyed shade from the trees or beach water. I will always remember day we had the block-out. It was so nice to enjoy the quietness and actually hear people talking when we sat in our Muskoka chairs that night.

This year we installed awning above our patio door, new doors and energy efficient windows. By shading section of the wall around the patio door, we can keep our kitchen much cooler now. I am actually surprised how much difference it makes. We also planted some trees when we moved here mainly for the shade and some privacy, and now they almost grown to full size trees, providing additional shade in the afternoon.

As I get older I have greater appreciation where and how I grew up. It was much more quiet then. Everything makes noise now days, not to mention children’s toys, that once in the blue moon they make noise at night just to give you a heart attack.

So for hot and sizzling days they are still ways to prevent your air conditioning running at full blast. I am in favor of techniques such night ventilation, blocking the heat and moisture from entering the inside, and something we don’t have – cooling with cold water.

Stay cool, looks like some rain is in the forecast.

Risks At Playgrounds, Monkey Bars?

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 05:42:57 +0000

The ‘Playground equipment sparks debate‘ an article published in The Banner on July 14, 2011 definitely sparked debate everywhere. ‘A piece of playground equipment in Confederation Park is under the microscope as residents are divided on weather to have it removed or leave it in place.‘, page 1.

Ada Johnson Playground

I thought I join this debate also, since I am very frequent visitor to the playgrounds in Aurora. Of course not by myself, with my 3 year old son.

My thoughts …

Playground equipment is not designed for one age. It is designed for range of ages. It is my responsibility as a parent to recognize my child’s climbing and maneuverability skills and let them play with the monkey bars, double hump camel climber or other equipment. Would I let my three year old now, or four year old next year climb such? No, he is a talker, but definitely not a climber at this stage of his life.

Ada Johnson Playground

Monkey bars, double hump camel climber and some other equipment I have seen are definitely for 10 year old children or older. Children at this age are more skilled but also bigger in size so falling through would be little difficult, never mind less distance to fall.

I am very protective parent. I don’t see anything wrong with that. Anything that my child wants to climb and I determined that it is not for him, he either is assisted or not allowed to use that piece of equipment.

Playgrounds are not just for fun, they are also learning experience for our children. Children fall, then they learn about pain and danger. We tell our children they cannot climb this or that, they learn about discipline. Children climb slides, we teach them about playground rules.

Children don’t know much about danger and are spontaneous. That goes with some of us too. Children are fearless. Again, as I responsible parent I must see danger ahead of my child, and warn them. If I cannot climb monkey bars, double hump camel climber or other equipment and probably cannot, then it is not for my child. If I know that my child likes to try new things, I watch him like a hawk. They learn, sometimes a spontaneous move can hurt.

My child fell backwards from top of the slide onto the stairs. My mistake, I should have examined the slide. There was a very little land for him to sit, he lost balance and fell backwards. Should I ask for the redesign. No, I assisted him until he became older and more skilled in maneuvering around. I learn too.

My child almost burned himself on the metal slide. Yes, we still have those in Aurora. My mistake, I took my child to the playground around lunch time, at the peak temperature. I did not examined the slide again. It was metal, and not plastic and you could almost cook an egg on its surface. No more visiting this playground. On the second thought, this is the playground I would suggest to replace.

Ada Johnson Playground

My conclusion …

Be responsible for your child they are fearless little creatures.

On the second hand I don’t understand what the subtitle on the page one of The Banner under ‘Playground equipment sparks debate‘ reading ‘Initiative promotes carpooling, public transit use‘, has to do with the whole article. A typo?