The Naperville Park District held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday evening for the re-opening of the Tallgrass Lakes Playground.
Playground input from the local neighborhood
The new equipment was chosen in part thanks to local residents.
“We had the neighborhood give us input last year on selecting the equipment,” said Naperville Park District Project Manager, Jessica Burgdorf. “There were over 50 families that participated, so we were really, really pleased to get some input. They helped select some of the features that are here, like the revolution spinner, then the track ride has always been very popular and of course, we got to incorporate everybody’s favorites with the swings.”
Kids can also enjoy the new X-climb, as well as standard favorites like slides. And there’s some musical fun to be had as well.
The park district says working with residents has been helpful in figuring out the wants and needs of each park.
“I feel like it helps give the neighborhood some ownership of it, and they’re allowed to give input beforehand if they have any special requests,” said Burgdorf. “And in this case, we did get a request for the ADA ramp. So, we do have direct ADA ramp access.”
Naperville Park District’s playground renovation policy
The park district conducts regular inspections on all of its playgrounds throughout the year.
“We have in our system over 70 playgrounds, and aim to renovate them roughly every 15 years,” said Burgdorf. “It’s mostly based on monthly inspections. And so that can get shifted, you know, forward or back. But generally, we consider the lifecycle 15 years.”
Future playground renovations
There are five more playgrounds set to be revamped this year.
- Gardner Park
- Hobson Grove Park
- Timber Creek Park
- Wil-O-Way Commons
- Heritage Place Park
The park district says that next year could see even more playground renovations, with eight already scheduled for updates.
Have a story idea? Send us a tip!
