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Home > Blogs > Adventures in Motherhood > Archives > 2008 > July > 02 > Entry
New splash pad opens in Oakwood park
To the delight of dozens of area children, Oakwood celebrated the opening of a new splash pad and renovated play area at Orchardly Park on Wednesday, July 2.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by a throng of hot, eager neighborhood kids (and their hotter parents) who have watched the construction crew’s daily progress since the project began in April.
My 2-year-old son dragged me to the park — between Orchard and Wonderly on Delaine Avenue — daily to see the big diggers and concrete mixers. What a time we had watching the machines and men in hard hats work their magic. We continued our research into all things construction at Wright Memorial Public Library, where the librarian helped us find a stack of children’s books filled with bulldozers and rollers and the like. He ate it up.
Anywho, back to the park opening: At the appointed time (5 p.m.), a few Oakwood officials gave short remarks, talking about the pride of community and the history of the park, which hadn’t been updated in 15 years. The ribbon was cut and the water was turned on, and joy was unbound.
My favorite part of the ceremony — besides the cookies, popcorn and ice cold water provided by the city — was the kudos given to Oakwood supermom Sheila Eifert, who had raised the issue of providing accessible play areas to community children.
A few years ago, Sheila was in final running of a contest sponsored by Playskool that built an accessible playground in the winning community. When she and her team of supporters asked Oakwood officials for a spot on city land at the Old River soccer fields for the proposed playground, she met with resistance.
The city’s decision not to support the effort created some bitterness among community parents, but during Orchardly’s grand re-opening Sheila got due credit: She was lauded as the impetus behind making sure that the Orchardly project took into account children with limited abilities — and a pledge was made that future city projects will be designed with that consideration as well. Bravo, Sheila!
I keep getting off topic. Back to the park itself: My older kids loved the new spinny, climbing contraptions, but my toddler was totally overwhelmed both by the volume of clamoring kids and the complexity of the equipment. There are simpler slides and swings on another part of the site, but we didn’t get over to explore it yet (we’ll save that for another day).
He did enjoy the costumed characters — Dora, Scooby, Cat in the Hat — making their rounds at the celebration. Some kids don’t handle interactions with imposing furry creatures well, but he lit up when he saw Scooby and gave him a big hug. That’s handy to know for future outings to the ballpark and such.
But alas, despite the blazing sun and lack of shade over the play area, I couldn’t convince my tot to try the spray area. Too many shouting, running big kids for his taste. We’ll have to work up to that on a quieter day.
While I’m grateful that Oakwood saw the value of improving its heaviest-used park, I do have a few concerns about the new site. My main worry is for the park’s sandbox, a beloved feature that’s used nine months of the year. The old one will be torn out and turned into green space (a friend said there were health concerns about the cleanliness of the sand).
A new sandpit was put in, but apparently during the grand opening, water pipes in the area actually sprung a leak and the sand area actually flooded! It didn’t dampen spirits, though, and city engineers rushed over to assess the situation.
Also, one little friend noted that the rubberized surface under the play equipment was so hot that it was burning her bare feet — it’s adjacent to the splash pad, so of course kids will shed their shoes. Not sure if that can be remedied, except with a pair of water-friendly sandals like Keens or Crocs.
And I’m sure there will be more kinks to work out, but the hope is that Orchardly Park will continue to be a highlight of the community.
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