The playground replacement at Samuel Spicer Park will create an inclusive, welcoming and fun play area designed to accommodate children and families of all abilities.
Cochrane’s playground lifecycle program
Cochrane has 46 playgrounds across the community and many are reaching the end of their usable life. To plan ahead and support active play in every neighbourhood, the Town launched the Playground Lifecycle Program in 2022. This long-term program replaces or updates at least one playground each year so families can continue to count on safe, inclusive places to play.
Centennial Park was the first revitalization in 2022 and was completed with help from Variety – the Children’s Charity of Alberta. Samuel Spicer Park was selected as the second project for playground revitalization.
Funding
The program blends Town funding with grants and community support. Cochrane was awarded $125,000 matching grant from Alberta's Community Facility Enhancement Program to support the playground replacement at Samuel Spicer Park.
About the park
Samuel Spicer Park, built in 1992, is one of our oldest playgrounds and ready for an update and is requiring some significant repairs. In 2025, we asked residents to share their ideas and priorities. The final design will reflect what we heard from the community. Variety has applied for a CFEP matching grant and the Town is contributing $125,000 toward a total investment of more than $250,000 to bring this neighbourhood park up to today’s standards.
Between July 9 and September 8, 2025, Cochrane invited community input through the Let’s Talk Cochrane website by launching a short online survey called Shaping Tomorrow’s Parks. The survey focused on gathering residents’ perspectives on how to reimagine and improve the playground and green space at Samuel Spicer Park.
The Samuel Spicer Playground & Park What We Heard Report (PDF) summarizes the key findings from the survey. Mainly, residents value their local, accessible playgrounds. Popular playgrounds combine quality equipment with neighbourhood integration: safe, walkable, scenic and family-focused.
