By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
The majority of new playground equipment pieces – including the crawling, climbing, swinging and sliding pieces – are now almost completely installed at the new San Moritz playground at the east end of Lake Gregory Regional Park.
There are a few more finishing items to install and safety inspections that need to be passed before the children will be permitted to play on it. A grand opening red ribbon cutting ceremony is being planned for early May with county officials, after all the inspections are completed.
The big construction equipment was removed last week, and the workers have just put in the “weed cloth” so weeds will not invade the wood chips placed below and around the play equipment. There is a short eight-inch lip to the playground to contain the wood chips, and there will be a fence around the playground to make it secure, so kids won’t be able to just run out into the nearby parking lot.
Weed cloth was installed under the play equipment and then topped with wood chips.
There are numerous benches around the perimeter for the adults to sit while watching their kids. This playground was designed with attention to children having fun while being safe and to it being accessible for all.
With the nice weather at the end of March, the installation went faster than first anticipated. The construction equipment was able to dig deep into the soil for the anchors and underground bases for the play equipment. The big play structures are deeply rooted into cement in the soil for safety. Then the nice warm weather enabled the workmen to swiftly put together and install all the large pieces of the playground equipment.
Lake Gregory Company manager Nathan Godwin explained that they were installing a special type of wood chips, larger than normal sawdust, for safety under the play equipment. Sawdust has in the past has been shown to clump and compact over time in mountain weather. These larger wooden chips will make it possible for wheelchairs to easily maneuver across them up to the playground equipment and yet not be so small that they get stuck in the adaptive equipment bearings.
They have investigated several types of ground cover for this playground. The rubber playground ground cover that had been installed at the little tots playground next to the tennis court did not work and the playground was forced to close for a while. The soft cover used at VOE Elementary School didn’t last a full five years. It has needed numerous patchings and replacement of worn areas. It is anticipated this special wood chip product will be soft enough and yet durable, too.
Larger wood chips have been placed under the play equipment for the safety of the children who will use the new playground.
The equipment is tall so it will give the children an opportunity to climb up high and see the wonderful views from those highpoints. “We tried to put as many pieces of play equipment into the space as possible,” Godwin said, “so there would be a variety of play options for them. When planning last year, we rearranged the design and play options several times to be able to install the most variety and fun for the kids.”
There are several large cable climbing pieces, as well as steps and slides and a choice of swing types and triangle play pieces. The equipment should wow the children who play on it.
The county paid for half of the cost of this equipment and the Lake Gregory Company raised some funds from the community and paid for half of the cost of this playground, which will be free of charge for children to play on. The county parking lot fees do apply for those lots. The fee is $2 for the first hour and $1 an hour for each additional hour to a maximum of $10 a day. However, for those who use the parking lots frequently, the Lake Gregory Company also offers a yearly parking permit for $89, which can be used in all of the Lake Gregory Regional Park parking lots.
The new playground is located adjacent to the dog park, which is also free for dogs to use. It is hoped that dog owners will not allow their dogs to be inside the children’s playground fence, so they won’t accidently soil the wooden chips.
Godwin is excited about the new playground and anticipates it should attract children from all over the community and will be a new attraction for the regional park.
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