The ribbon was cut at three new playgrounds in Belleville on Saturday.  

The first ceremony took place at Potter's Creek Park playground on Aldersgate Drive.

In addition to being a sign of residential growth, City Parks and Open Space Manager Larry Glover says there is another benefit to have the playgrounds open -- lowering childrens' time in front of screens and bring them outside for physical activity.

The Thurlow Park Playground on Harmony Road has new equipment that replaces the old that was not meeting C-S-A standards.  

The Clarence S. Bird Memorial Park Playground on Hampton Ridge Drive -- like the open space at Potter's Creek Park -- is brand new.

The playgrounds have actually been in construction for about a year to get to Saturday's official opening, at an average cost of about 250 thousand dollars.  

Glover says the demand for recreation will grow as the subdivision and city grows and a Master Plan will be put together for Potter's Creek Park scheduled to be ready for sometime in 2018.