A New Playground Plans Ready For Bid

By Kendra Bobowick

Plans for a new playground at Dickinson Park are ready to go out to bid.

With the color prints before her, Parks and Recreation Director Amy Mangold asked the Parks and Recreation Commission Tuesday, “What do you think about putting it out to bid?” As commission members took another look a final look at plans, Chairman Ed Marks was quick to support the idea.

Possibly as soon as next fall residents will see construction begin on features including a large wooden play structure with ramps and towers, a rope climbing station, swings, a sand pit, an adventure-scape — a boulderlike climbing structure — large, interactive musical features, and more.

With roughly $420,000 already budgeted in a past approved Capital Improvement Plan, and plans provided by resident and landscape designer Billie Cohen of Billie Cohen Ltd, Ms Mangold received approval from the commission members Tuesday to begin the bidding process.

Referring to a poster-size color design of the playground set before the commission Tuesday, Ms Mangold explained that the play features are “placed at the outskirts” of the playground area that is now occupied by FunSpace, the existing and nearly 20-year-old wooden playground at Dickinson Park. Rather than cluster the play features together, the climbing rocks and wooden towers are spread out. “This will draw people along the trail,” Ms Mangold said.

She described the playground area as “mixed, natural, fun, some musical instrument pieces — a lot of play value instead of playground pieces alone.” She said, “It’s different, not a standard playground, but I think it’s what Dickinson needs, a flow.” Pieces of FunSpace, such as the central castle, will be saved and incorporated into the park. “The pieces that people are attached to would still be there,” Ms Mangold said, referring to the current playground.

Noting that the commission was “comfortable” with the plans provided by Ms Cohen, Mr Marks asked for a timeline for the new play space. While Ms Mangold did not expect to get the bids out “immediately,” she did anticipate that as a best case scenario, construction would beginning in the fall of 2013. FunSpace may see its final season this coming spring. By this time next year FunSpace may be closed and taken down.