Currie View Park playground Option B
courtesy City of Monroe
Options B and C.
MONROE — The city parks department is taking in lots of input for what to put in the playground at Currie Park, a relaxation spot near the corner of 154th Street SE and 171st Avenue SE.
The future playground should be open by early fall and will be relocated closer to the parking lot. The park’s basketball hoops will be retained, as well as its grass.
Quite a few people are speaking up about two options through the city’s call for comments on Facebook and a small bunch attended last week’s parks board meeting.
Option “B” is more traditional with hand-over-hand monkey bars and climbing web for the older kids and a low-height see-saw and little play structure for young ones.
Option “C” exchanges some of that to have a taller climbing structure with a rope swing for older kids and a low-height climbing dome, a small merry-go-round and a small play fort for young kids.
Both concepts feature swing sets, play structures with slides and music-making machines.
“The new playground will be exciting, inclusive and more area for a variety of challenging play activities for the neighborhood park,” parks director Mike Farrell said by email. It will replace play equipment that is 25 years old.
On the city’s Facebook page calling for comments, Option “C” was getting the most support so far. We’re choosing between options “B” and “C” because Option “A” didn’t advance to the final selection, parks planners said.
Underfoot would be rubber and turf built with impact attenuation if anyone falls. Wood chips don’t meet the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because wheelchairs can’t roll through.
New durable steel benches would be added, too.
A few people said the color scheme could be brighter, and others asked if a fence could be put up for safety. One asked if a crosswalk could be built for safety.
Installation could start by August with a ribboncutting in the early fall, parks planners said. They’ll know a formal timeline from the vendor soon, parks planner Ben Swanson said.
Detailed pictures of the Currie View Park playground concepts are on the city website at http://www.monroewa.gov/92/Parks-Recreation
Blueberry Children’s Park on Blueberry Lane, meanwhile, is getting ready to have its new playground opened this summer.
