A Jasper parent is concerned about children’s safety at Centennial park and is demanding the town clean up the playground.

Drew Pearson approached the town on Sept. 21 with several concerns, including rebar sticking out of the ground near the swings, a broken picnic table and steps covered in pea gravel.

“It has the hazards of a construction site,” said Pearson. “Unfortunately, it’s an amazing playground, but it’s not being managed properly.”

He has spoken to numerous parents who share his concerns, and was upset nothing had been done at the site 48 hours after he brought the issues to the town’s attention. He said his child enjoys the playground, and he’s impressed with the new play structures, however he says it’s up to the town to keep the site safe.

“No due diligence is going on. I want the town to keep the playground open, but it’s not being managed properly.”

Pearson is worried the rebar is a puncture hazard, as a child could easily fall upon it, and he’s concerned the broken picnic table presents a splinter hazard to children. The splinters are at eye level for toddlers, Pearson said.

“If it was a construction site, it would be shut down,” Pearson said.

Steps adjacent to the new playground equipment have been covered in pea gravel recently, and present a steep drop for children. The slope of the steps is quite steep, he says, and he’s nervous children could fall if the steps become slippery.

“It’s a good metre drop. Any parent knows this is a significant hazard,” Pearson said.

Pearson said he doesn’t want to lay blame with the hazards, he just wants to see them fixed.

The rebar was removed from the playground on Friday, according to Jasper’s director of environmental services Ken Quackenbush, and replacing the broken picnic table has been on the town’s list of things to do for some time.

“The picnic table has been broken for some time. We hope to clean it up this year,” Quackenbush said.

He also said the steps were built to code, and the town has left a broom by the steps this summer, however it keeps disappearing. Town crews sweep the steps frequently, Quackenbush said.

“There are no code issues of concern,” he said. ‘There were options. We looked at rubber mattings like you see in urban centres, but they were cost prohibitive. Wood chips are used in the school, but they pack up and have to be replaced.”

Quackenbush said response time depends on the seriousness of the problem.

“If it’s dangerous, the response is quick,” Quackenbush said.

Contracts for many of the town’s seasonal public works employees just ended, which leaves the town with three public works employees.

Slide with Pride set up the structures at the playground, which were chosen for their safety. More than 500 volunteer hours were put into the Slide with Pride project, which is continuing. The town is adapting a natural playground approach, which is designed to provide safe, natural spaces for children to play.