The City of St. Marys is getting a new playground this summer. The old “Playland” park was demolished in late February, sparking some backlash from the community.
The old wooden Playland playground on Wolfel Road was built by hundreds of volunteers in the early 90’s. That’s according to City Manager Joe Fleming, who said the park survived well past its life expectancy.
“We recently had a comprehensive plan that looked at all of our community parks. We have seven. This was one of the main consensus of that comprehensive plan, that it had many safety concerns," Fleming said.
Fleming said he doesn’t blame those who are upset to see Playland go. But he said something had to be done; the wooden castle-like structure had exposed spikes and rust. He also said the slides were falling apart.
“When structures become unsafe, we need to take action to ensure the safety of our kids when they play," Fleming said.
Fleming says the new park will be the first ADA accessible public playground in the city. He says there will be special slides, ziplines and swings for kids with disabilities.
“We want to make sure that it's accessible for everyone. You know, every part of the playground is for everyone," Fleming said.
The total cost of the Playland Replacement Project is about $718,000. That money came from state grants and community donations. Fleming hopes to start installation within a month and have the grand opening sometime in mid-July.
The City of St. Marys Parks and Recreation announced the winner of a community vote last week to decide the color scheme for the new Playland playground, which will have blue surfacing on the ground and yellow slides.
