Cloudy skies didn’t stop the neighborhood from coming out to play last Saturday during the ribbon cutting at Eldridge Park’s newly redeveloped east playground. After a short ribbon cutting, Board President Kevin Graf and fellow commissioners welcomed families to the playground and invited them to be some of the first to try out the new equipment.
The new playground features more climbing and spinning equipment, an expanded swing area and additional seating. A popular new feature will likely be the large slide that spans the hill separating the toddler play area from the main playground. Permeable rubber safety surfacing replaced the wood chips and asphalt was refurbished, improving accessibility.
The playground, located on the Spring Road side of the park, was last renovated in 2000. It originally was slated to be updated in 2020, but work was postponed due to pandemic related financial constraints. The Park Board previously approved playground concepts back in January 2020, which were partially based on feedback gathered from the community in 2019, through in-person surveys and an online survey.
