Several parks in Windsor's Bridgeview neighbourhood have some new features

James Chako, Fabio Costante, and Guy Ladouceur at Grove Park on July 31, 2023. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)

Ward 2 Coun. Fabio Costante announced on Monday that the City of Windsor and CUPE Local 82 had partnered to bring soccer nets, picnics tables, and benches to the area.

Grove Park, Giradot Park, and Curry Park have the new nets while North and South Merritt Parks and North and South Tilston Parks have the other amenities.

Costante said $8,000 came from his ward funds for the improvements, noting the city and union also pitched in the same amount.

“About a year or two ago, we installed nets at Bradley Park in Sandwich Town and through our observation, we saw that those were really popular and well used and so we figured why not do that here in Bridgeview,” said Costante.

He continued, “One of the great things about this neighbourhood is we’ve got so many of these small little parks, but for as long as I can remember, a lot of them have been some what empty. To activate these parks in small ways, I think, goes a long way in building community and getting kids active.”

Costante said he was proud of the partnership and excited to leverage these types of investments to do more, noting it’s about quality of life for Windsor residents.

“There’s an effort to not only preserve our parks but to enhance our green space. It’s really important when it comes to quality of life in our neighbourhoods but also everything that we’re dealing with in climate change,” Costante said.

CUPE Local 82 Tresurer Guy Ladouceur said it’s important to have things that everyone in the community can use, noting they allocate $8,000 each year for various initiatives.

“This is something that we want to continue to move forward and we hope to God that the kids play safe and enjoy themselves,” he said. "A lot of kids need stuff to do on their off time and at the end of the day for us, it's something we agree with.”