Written By David Gomez
STRATHROY - Residents around Southfield Park are hoping a long-empty green space in Strathroy could once again become a place for children to play.
Questions surrounding the park’s lack of playground equipment resurfaced recently after new signage identifying the property as Southfield Park was installed.
According to municipal staff, the original playground equipment was removed in 2016 after safety concerns were identified.
In an email to this newspaper, Director of Community Services Rob Lilbourne said the equipment dated back to roughly the 1970s and predated modern CSA standards. He said a third-party evaluation found “significant issues related to safety.”
Lilbourne also confirmed that replacing playground equipment “has been a staff consideration” and said the municipality would consider external grants or partnerships for future improvements to the park.
For resident Paul Tedesco, who moved to Strathroy about five years ago after retiring from the Toronto Transit Commission, the issue is less about large-scale redevelopment and more about making use of a space that already exists.
“It’s a park. It’s just suffering from benign neglect,” Tedesco said during a phone interview.
He said residents currently have to travel roughly a kilometre to reach the playground near the arena grounds, something he believes is not always practical for younger children.
“You may want your 12-year-old kid to go over to that park, but your eight-year-old kid can’t go there by himself,” he said.
Tedesco recently contacted Middlesex—London MP Lianne Rood office seeking information about possible provincial and federal grants that could help fund future playground equipment.
While acknowledging the high cost of playground infrastructure, he believes smaller improvements could still make a difference.
“Even picnic tables or something, it’s just a reasonable request,” Tedesco said.
For now, residents hoping to see playground equipment return to Southfield Park may be waiting on funding opportunities—but the conversation appears to have finally started.
