New playgrounds, splash pads and trails are part of the upgrades coming to a dozen Windsor parks this year.

Officials say a major theme is accessibility.

The Parks Department is investigating some new innovative features to install in the future.

Parks director Phil Roberts says the city is working toward having two large fully accessible parks in every ward across the city - that's 20 accessible parks.

With new accessibility standards and constantly evolving play space technology, the city is working hard to keep up.

A dozen parks will get new features in 2016 including six accessible playgrounds, two splash pads (including one at Jackson Park) a new tennis court and trail improvements budgeted at $1.5-million.

"It's just a matter now of executing these projects,” says Roberts. “So again the goal is now that we have public input, accessibility issues, now it really is taking these back to the parks department and getting these things on the drawing board."

Roberts says accessibility is a major consideration for any new park. He says the city is working to have two fully accessible parks in each ward.

“That really has changed the game in the parks dynamic,” says Roberts. “These are reasonable things in our community in our society to expect, but now it's a matter of executing with the dollar value involved."

Price and safety standards may be holding the city back from adopting some of the newer innovations.

For instance, one type of swing allows a wheelchair user to load, swing and off-load without any assistance.

“Those sorts of swings are new to us, we're investigating what we have to provide to meet CSA standards for playspaces, but we're trying to get ourselves set up so we can provide one of those swings," says Mike Clement, manager of parks development.

Aside from accessibility upgrades, the Parks Department is also embarking on a new experience at Mitchell Park, in what Clement calls a more relaxed environment in a natural park.

“It has brims, hills, integrated, instead of climbing a steel structure,” says Clement. “You climb the hill then go down a slide embedded into the hill. Then climbing things with rocks, climbing walls, giant logs and those sorts of things."

Also returning this year will be themed parks.

Clement says the concept was such a huge success last year, they're going to stick with it.

The city would like to have most parks functional by July of this summer.

List of City of Windsor park upgrades for 2016:

Lakeshore Woods Park – New Playground (Ward 7)

Walker Homesite Park – New Playground (Ward 9)

Bridgeview Park – New Playground (Ward 2)

Esdras Park- New Playground (Ward 6)

Stodgell Park – New Playground (Ward 4)

Avon Court Park – New Playground (Ward 1)

Jackson Park – New Splash Pad (Ward 3)

Realtor Park – New Splash Pad (Ward 6)

Forest Glade Park – New Parking Lot and Trail Improvements (Ward 7)

Mitchell Park – New Natural Playground (Ward 3)

Hall Farms Park – Trail Improvements (Ward 9)

Ypres Park – New Tennis Courts (Ward 5)