April Fools: Millerton New York

April Fools:  Woke up this morning to snow covered forsythia.

Look at the Plans to Renovate Slope Park

Existing Site Plan

Pretty much everything in the this playground needs to go or be upgraded.  The climbing equipment is old and dangerous.  The broken concrete/granite water feature is a mess.  The actual ground is uneven with numerous trip hazards like the cobble stones and asphalt that has been pushed upwards by tree roots.  There is no fall protection at all under the monkey bars some with platforms over 6 feet high.  There is none of that thick spongy rubber mat used everywhere now days. 

While Slope Parks trees are magnificent, most of the plantings, the shrubs and bushes, are badly beaten up by the kids, I guess when playing hide and seek in them. Shaded from the sun by the tree canopy, the grassy areas never get enough sunlight, and look threadbare at best.  

Some quick observations about this design. 

Separating the play areas into zones based on age is always a good idea. Keep the toddlers fenced in as much as possible away from the general population.  

I like the plan of moving the 18th Street entrance down to the corner of 6th Avenue. Currently when you enter the 18th St. gate you head down a steep ramp straight into this massive tree.  

It's also a good idea to get rid of the overly large, underused concrete seating area.  No one ever actually played there.  Parents and guardians  need to sit close to where their kids are playing with a clean line of sight.  The water coarse runs down the sunny midsection... that's good.   Plenty of benches... Could always use a few more than you think as the nannies claim the shady ones early.  Awesome spinning disk... check. I see there are swings planned. Don't skimp on the swings for the older kids... No one likes to wait in long swing lines. Slides, where are the slides?  Plural. we need multiple slides, especially a curly-cue one. We could use better (height appropriate) drinking water fountains. No sandbox? In my humble opinion, good riddance.  Who needs pin worms anyway.  

Gotta say pretty exciting.  Overall a huge improvement. There is talk that construction will start soon and take a year to finish, but that would seem optimistic.  What do you think about the new design?

Ideas...My kids love the new spinning dish they installed in Vanderbilt Playground in Prospect Park.