PORT ORANGE, Fla. -- A Volusia County mother is pushing to get the city of Port Orange to add sun protection at parks.

  • Volusia County mom petitions for canopies at playground
  • Woman says parks don't have enough shade
  • Petitions created for Port Orange and South Daytona

"As you can see that one's not covered, this one's not covered," Kelly Gainey said, pointing out play areas at All Children's Park. 

 Gainey said things have changed at the park, but that wasn't always the case when she visited as a kid.

"We just remember there were so many shaded areas for us to be able to run around and play," she said. 

Now she says the heat is brutal and there isn't enough shade.

"My child last week we went to the park and at 9:30 was so upset that he couldn't use the slide because it was too hot," Gainey said. "My biggest concern is my child getting burned from the equipment."

Gainey started a petition to ask the city to add canopies.

"You can see now there's nobody playing here and nobody playing on the other one that's directly in the sunlight. They're hiding at the one in the shade," she said. "Just one sun shade over this would be fantastic."

"There is no canopy cover here," parent Amanda Cramer said. "Having lived in multiple other states that do cover their parks, I'm just shocked to move to Florida, one of the hottest states."

City officials said they received Gainey's letter and the request will be addressed by the Parks and Recreation Advisory committee. If it's deemed necessary, it will be placed on their future priority list for design and installation.

So far, Gainey has gotten more than 1,400 signatures on her petition.  

"I'd like to hit up all of Volusia County to make sure we get the shade we need," she said.

Gainey also started a petition for South Daytona as well. 

City officials said priorities for this fiscal year's 2019 budget proposal from the Parks & Recreation Department have already been established.