With its scarce amount of play equipment and awkward access, the Parks department's decision to renovate Lawton Play Park was not a difficult choice.
But before it moves ahead, the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department will seek the community's input on the its design.
In the 2008 Parks and Green Space Levy, $300,000 was designated for the renovation of Lawton Play Park - specifically targeting new play equipment for children ages 2 to 12 and improving safety and providing access in line with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. About 75 percent of the funding will go toward the physical reconstruction and new equipment for the playground, according to project manager Emily Fuller.
"The playground is a little outdated," Fuller said. "We have some conceptual designs for the new playground and we're trying to get the community's input."
The first meeting takes place from 6:30-8 p.m. tonight at Lawton Elementary School, where the community can analyze the initial designs developed by Parks and give suggestions for the design.
After this meeting, Parks will reassess the renovation plans and create a preferred design that incorporates the community's comments and concerns from tonight's meeting. The updated design will be presented at the Jan. 21 meeting, which will be a chance to refine pieces of the plan.
Currently, the upper level has two swings and a merry-go-round, while the lower level offers two spring toys for younger children.
"It's pretty bare right now because we had to take out a lot of the old equipment that was outdated," Fuller added, "so our main focus will be on installing updated equipment and making the site generally more accessible because it's on that steep hill, and bring it up to ADA standards."
Both play areas, divided roughly into the age groups 2-5 and 6-12, have sand - an outdated surface for playgrounds, said Lawton parent and PTA co-president Kimball Mullins.
Though the park isn't specifically for use by Lawton students, teachers often use the space as an overflow playground.
"We haven't thought specifically about what we want or don't want," Mullins said, "but climbing structures would be one thing - one geared toward younger kids and another to older children. And getting rid of the sand. It's messy and dirty; there's more appropriate cushion and surfaces for kids to play on now."
The main options for replacing the sand would be wood fiber chips or rubber surfacing, which usually costs a little bit more. The choice will likely boil down to budget constraints, Fuller said. The two major constraints of the site are intertwined - its accessibility and the fact it is situated on a slope.
But working around that, "we really just need to make sure we have the mix of both age groups and make sure the safety and the accessibility is all met," Fuller said. "We're going to have a few options at the first meeting but it's really up to the community to let us know what it wants."[[In-content Ad]]
