Hodgkins-Curtin Park Update (closing soon)

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

Ellen Schneider from the city sent out a message yesterday announcing that the renovation at Hodgkins-Curtin Park is finally starting for real. The playground area will close after Labor Day; the field will be open a bit longer.

Message from Ellen:

Dear Hodgkins-Curtin Park Community, The construction of Hodgkins-Curtin Park will begin after Labor Day. The playground will be closed to the public beginning Tuesday, September 8. This notice will also be posted in the park. The contractor will first put up security fencing and rodent bait traps, before beginning demolition. Rodent control is a precautionary measure required at any City construction project. While we do not anticipate any problems, it is a good idea for park abutters to securely cover trash cans for the first few weeks of construction. City ordinances limit construction hours from 7am to 7pm, Monday-Saturday. The contractor will be parking vehicles on the construction site as much as possible, and will use the site for storage of equipment and materials. Every effort will be made to keep traffic and parking disturbances to a minimum during the construction period.

And a followup about the field:

I don't have a date when the field will be closed. I do know that there will be a community event at Hodgkins Field on Sunday, September 13 (Open Air Circus yard sale), and it will be available for regular use by the public for a while. Our office will send out a notice when we have the exact date that the field will be closed to the public.

Comments

[dougo.livejournal.com]

What are they building? What's wrong with the current playground?

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

The main project is to redo the ball field so that it's flat. But the playground is also showing its age. I also don't think there's much wrong with it, but parts are falling apart. Someone broke one of the slides last year, and the city was unable to get it repaired because the original company is out of business and no one else will touch it for (ridiculous, but there you go) insurance reasons. It's kind of a shame, because the wooden and metal parts of the structure have held up very well. On the other hand, the plan is for the larger-kid structure to be more challenging for older kids, which I'll appreciate as mine get bigger.

The trees are also buried by a few feet, choking them, and the plan is to save those and add more. There will also be plantings along the fence, making that look prettier.

And last but not least, the playground surface itself is sand, and although studies have shown it to be very safe and the kids love it, the maintenance department is tired of dealing with it -- and more importantly, the mayor seems to feel strongly that sand is icky. So the new design has mostly high-tech poured rubber surface, but we've managed to lobby for the inclusion of a decent-sized sand feature.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

i'm assuming it will be closed for the rest of the usable season (aka until winter) then ready to use in the spring?

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what I've been told.