Norton Community Park's Playground and Basketball Court Close August 17 for an $800,000 Rebuild

Norton Community Park at 3035 Tim Dobbie Dr. loses its playground and basketball court for three months starting August 17. Both are being torn out and replaced as part of an $800,000 renewal that also covers new swings, safety surfacing and the splashpad. The work is scheduled to finish November 13.

The playground is not coming back as a playground. The city is replacing it with an obstacle course aimed at teens and adults, a different approach from the standard rebuild happening at Fothergill Woods Park on Fothergill Boulevard, which gets a $375,000 refresh on the same timeline.

Temporary fencing closes off the playground and basketball court only. The skate park and the public washrooms stay open through construction. The splashpad keeps running until a section of it needs to shut for concrete repair, which the city says will happen after the summer season ends.

What has skateboarders concerned

No skate park work sits in this year's tender. The city is doing design work for it this year with construction repairs still to be scheduled in 2027, and that timing worries Ontario Skateboarding. Advocacy chair Scott Loyst calls Norton the largest and, in his view, the best of Burlington's 10 skate parks, big enough for summer camps, contests, demos and BMX riders, and says pros travel in to skate it.

Loyst says the nearby alternatives are underwhelming, so a closure would push riders onto area streets or out to other towns. He also notes pre-cast obstacles were pulled from four other Burlington skate parks in 2024 after they deteriorated, and he is still waiting on the city for a replacement plan.