At Treadwell’s New Playground The Focus Will Be Fun

By Jeff White

The idea of the proposed new playground at Treadwell Park has been more abstract than concrete; that is, until recently. Late last week, members of the Treadwell Park Playground Committee and the Parks and Recreation Department said that not only does the project have more focus, they now know exactly what will be going into the Sandy Hook park, and what it will look like.

The 20-year-old wooden structure that currently rests near the entrance to Treadwell pool will be replaced with two separate playgrounds: a smaller one for toddlers and younger children, and a larger, more complex area for older children. Both units will be installed over blacktop, which will be covered with special cushioned titles.

The smaller playground will encompass roughly 2,072 square feet of space, while the larger playground will sit on a 6,000 square foot parcel of land.

The project is being co-organized with the efforts of the Parks and Recreation Department and the Newtown Lions Club. Lions Club President and Playground Committee co-chairman Gordon Williams said this week that materials for the two playgrounds have already been ordered, after gaining final approval from both the Park and Recreation Commission and Selectmen.

The materials, ordered from a company called Landscape Structuring, will a include such features as aluminum posts, 11-gauge steel decks, and plastic slides and roofs, all in the colors of red, white, and blue. “There is longevity there,” Tammy Marks, Playground Committee Co-chair, remarked about what will be seen as more “state of the art” material for a playground.

The committee decided to model their new playgrounds after the one at Hawley School, rather than Dickinson’s “Fun Space,” which would be a harder playground to maintain.

As for what is actually going to be in the new playground, the committee canvassed Newtown elementary schools to find out just what the most popular diversions are these days. Although the new playground will have traditional distractions like swings and slides, there will also be a track ride, a tire swing, and three different activity panels.

The two new playgrounds will also be an improvement in another area: handicap accessibility. Whereas state mandates require playgrounds to be at least 50 percent accessible to those in wheelchairs and with disabilities, both Treadwell Park playgrounds will be well over 60 percent accessible. It was a requirement set by the committee, according to Peter Wallace, who is overseeing the project’s construction.

“The committee has decided to go with a structure that is very handicap accessible,” he remarked. Children in wheelchairs will be able to access the upper decks of the structure through a variety of means, and the activity panels will be placed in strategic locations to be used by handicapped children.

The handicap accessibility of the new structures will qualify them, the committee hopes, for various grants from organizations that endorse the maintenance of public areas for the handicapped.

With more focus to the actual project, the committee has been able to close in on an actual project cost. Members figure that approximately $75,000 will be needed to complete both structures, and through fundraisers and donations, the committee has already managed to bank about $20,000, enough for the smaller playground.

The group’s major fundraiser for the fall is already in the planning stages. A “Casino Night” will be held November 11 at the Fireside Inn to raise funds for the playgrounds. According to Gordon Williams, there will be gambling, along with a silent and live auction.

The committee is looking for anyone who might want to donate something to the auctions, like a trip or the use of a vacation house.

In addition, the group is accepting individual donations. They are encouraging local residents to financially adopt a section of the playground, but anyone wanting to contribute money can do so. The group is planning to march in the upcoming Labor Day Parade, and they will send out bands of youngsters throughout the crowd to collect money from parade watchers.

Anyone interested in helping with or contributing to the project should call Gordon Williams at 426-6443 or Tammy Marks at 426-5333.

If all continues to go smoothly, the project should officially break ground next spring. Although there is nothing at Treadwell Park right now to hint at the coming diversions, the two new playgrounds do already have a name.

Although the new Treadwell Park playgrounds will be for all Newtown children, Marc Reyes will be able to think of it, at least in part, as his own. The St Rose third grader came up with the name for the facility, “Adventure Quest,” which was picked as the winning name by the Playground Committee. Besides having his idea permanently attached to the playground, Marc received a pizza party for himself and a few friends as thanks for his creativity.