By John E. Weare, Keep Alliance Beautiful
Piece by piece it went – swings, slides and everything else that had comprised Alliance’s Central Park playground for more than a generation. By early April only a concrete ring remained. Like avid gardeners waiting for the danger of frost to pass, children expectantly anticipate the new equipment. Stop by and check again, it may have appeared overnight, their expressions say.
Shana Brown, Cultural and Leisure Services director, explained the actual timeline calls for completion before summer arrives. Worst case scenario, she noted, would be late May to early June. Currently, crews are still finishing prep work. Start of installation hinges on the progression of Outdoor Recreation’s other projects.
Keep Alliance Beautiful has strong ties to the former playground. Its planning and installation bring back memories for me as well, such as covering the groundbreaking for the Times-Herald. Shana said the City worked with KAB (then Alliance Clean Community System) to secure a grant. According to a March 8, 1995, T-H article: Alliance was one of 10 communities across the state to receive a Kiewit grant and one of 15 communities across the nation to receive EPA/Keep America Clean grants (part of a total $60,000 public fundraising goal). The equipment was made of 85 percent recycled products and was originally underlined by a TuffTurf mat under each slide made from recycled tires.
Beyond the plastic and steel, KAB provided the rubber mulch to create a safe area to play on. Workers removed the material, sourced from recycled tires, as the project started in March. The mulch is being reused at Bauer Park and Jaycee Mini Park with the rest stockpiled for the future. I am amazed at the longevity of this product and glad it can be shared elsewhere in our parks system.
Every park in Alliance has its own character. Though the most recent Central Park rendition came along when I was a young adult, prior features were also there for years during my childhood. Everyone loved the metal tornado slide – often left alone on scorching summer afternoons when it burned your legs. We could ride horses or spring animals, rock the king- sized bell and use the centrifugal force to fling gravel and our friends off the merry-go round.
There was even a little cabin with what amounted to a wood plank hamster wheel that was a blast despite the works eventually seizing up. My children are old enough that I haven’t given much thought to the specifics of this upgrade. Shana said she reached out to both elementary schools for names of involved parents to ask what their kids like and what they like. “(We) looked at changes since this was built – this one had (features) for older and smaller kids attached,” she said. “This (new design) is separated a little but to provide an extra layer of safety.”
The new playground will take up the same amount of space with the crash surfacing using the concrete border. The planed surface has a base layer of concrete that must cure before a shock-absorbing layer is added then, finally, a poured-in-place layer like the running surface at the AHS track. The coloring is 50/50 brown/black. Shana said First Christian Church – who donated $60,000 – was instrumental in the City settling on that option rather than woodchips.
“(City) council allocated extra money to make up the difference,” she added.
A merry-go-round will return to the playground, which none of the other City parks currently have. Traditional swings are joined by two with harnesses for kids with mobility issues as well as a baby swing and a hammock swing. “Several parents said kids use monkey bars all the time, so we stuck it in there,” Shana said.The tube slide was eliminated however. “(They) can have structural issues,” she said, explaining that some kids are afraid of it. There will also be climbing walls and stepping stones.
Like the version just carted away, this design takes advantage of replaceable panels. Shana said she reached out to schools who declined to take the old yellow and red components. Everything except the tube slide, which wasn’t salvageable, will likely go up for auction based on City statutes for excess property.
As space opened between the shelter house and the museum cow, I could almost see something bold like a 100-yard zip line. Shana explained that they did not want to compete with the historical features among considerations hence a more traditional setting. Instead, look at other spaces. Shana said the capital budget has a progression of playgrounds. The next one would be Laing Lake, where she said, would be the place to really do something out of the box.
Enjoy your new playground Alliance and tell our out-of-town visitors seeking some R&R. Help our awesome open spaces grow by thanking a City employee or volunteer or submitting what’s on your drawing board for Laing Park. I envision sound, art, fitness and water.