To help support bringing your own toys to Kitchener parks and keep our parks free of obstacles, we're adding storage areas, also called loose parts bins, to some parks.

On this page:

  1. Bring your own toys
  2. Loose parts bins
  3. Tell us where you want a loose parts bin

Bring your own toys

To support imaginative and unstructured play in our parks, we encourage you to bring your own toys to parks and play spaces. Please either take these toys home with you, or, if you are leaving them, leave them in a designated space like a loose parts bin.

Please do not leave your toys near the play equipment or in the sand pit. When staff inspect equipment for safety, they will remove any non-compliant items, including toys. Toys brought from home are often not compliant and will likely need to be removed. If you leave toys in the grass, they can get caught in maintenance equipment and will be removed.

Loose parts bins

A loose parts bin is a storage area where you can leave toys near a play area or in a park between visits to the park. Toys left in a loose parts bin are accessible to all members of community and shared.

Some community groups may actively manage a loose parts bin and some of the items may not be traditional toys, but elements that can be used as part of a creative play time, for example, in a sand play area. Whatever the toy or equipment that is left in a loose parts bin or storage area, please treat it with respect, return it after use, and, if damaged, please take home and recycle it, or put in the garbage.

Remember that shared toys are often used by many people and are not cleaned or inspected for damage. Some loose parts bins may be managed by a community group and may be locked. If your park's loose parts bin is locked, please follow the signs to reach out to the community coordinator for access.

Tell us where you want a loose parts bin

If we're making improvements to your park, there may be ways to add a loose parks bin through that project. If we're not working on your park right now, consider working with your neighbours and our LoveMyHood team on a neighbourhood greening project to add a loose parts bin.