By Brittany Kelley KYLE — Kyle City Council listened to a presentation at its Feb. 4 meeting regarding Steeplechase Park and a future upgrade.
“Steeplechase playground is a project we’re really excited about. This is the replacement of an existing playground. So, we’re going to go over the purpose and strategy for this project,” said Parks and Recreation Director David Lopez.
According to Lopez, city staff assessed all of the playgrounds within the city to determine what needed to be replaced, including the age, damage and any repairs that have been made in the past. From this, staff determined that Steeplechase Park was the lowest rated playground and needed replacement.
The existing playground structure is more than 20 years old, according to agenda documents, and has poor aesthetics, low play-value and is limited for inclusivity.
“We want a kid who’s in a wheelchair or a kid who’s not to all play together as much as possible throughout the entire site,” said Will Atkinson, parks planning & project manager.
City staff consulted with Whirlix Design Inc. to provide three concepts for the community, council and park board to provide feedback on. Lopez explained that the community has expressed a need for shade, as well as consistent surfacing, such as pour-inplace (PIP) rubber or turf, so these were included when discussing plans with the company.
“The cool thing about playgrounds is pretty much everybody can use them and they’re just a lot of fun, but when we’re incorporating all these items with playgrounds, we have to include the physical, social, cognitive skills within the environment,” said Atkinson.
The playscape must also manage risk, he continued, by making sure that the risk of children climbing and playing is age appropriate, follows ADA guidelines and meets surfacing requirements to minimize fall impact.
Atkinson noted that many of the city’s playgrounds have engineered wood fiber, which is ADA compliant, but isn’t ideal for accessibility. So, the better option is for PIP or synthetic turf playground grass. The former has a longevity of five to seven years, while turf is 10 to 15 years.
“We’re going to have new sidewalks, new shade, new parking lot improvements — which is on a different contract you all approved in January — and this is going to be a great park,” emphasized Atkinson.
According to the project manager, all three concepts include inclusive amenities, synthetic grass and PIP, common tunnel mound, use of existing shade, addition of shade for swings and improvement to accessibility.
Concept one: Themed
• PIP would be approximately $474,000, while turf would be $454,000
• Site work, which includes sidewalks, seat walls, excavation, paint, shade and more would be $175,000 Concept two: Traditional
• PIP is estimated at $454,000, with turf at $437,000
•Site work, which includes sidewalks, seat walls, excavation, paint, shade and more would be $175,000 “I liken this one to more like an Apollo Space Program or something along those lines, very space age … If I was a kid — if I was several years younger than what I am now — I’d probably want to play on this one the best,” said Atkinson.
Concept three: Modern Abstract • $515,000 for PIP and $504,000 for turf
• Site work, which includes sidewalks, seat walls, excavation, paint, shade and more would be $175,000 All three designs were presented to the Parks and Recreation Board in January and the board responded with positive feedback, but board members wanted to ensure that inclusive components were included, that there was an area for adults and that PIP was placed in key wear-zone areas.
Council member Robert Rizo noted that the PIP and turf is important to ensure that children with mobility issues can have access to the playground, as well.
Mayor Travis Mitchell commented on the turf usage, as it gets very hot in the summer, so that if it is going to be used, that it needs to be shaded.
Rizo also encouraged staff to help bring parks to children throughout the city: “There’s some areas in our town that we don’t have parks nearby. I think kids should always have a four minute walk, five minute, at the most, a ten minute walk to a park … So, [if] there’s anything we can salvage out of our equipment, that would be great [to put around the city]. I’d love to see us do some pop up areas, so every kid has an opportunity to have a park,” said Rizo.
Next steps include public engagement sessions in February and March, said Atkinson, with project completion estimated in August or September of this year.
“I’d like to see some time cut out of this timeline because we’re going through an entire summer with an outdated park,” said council member Bear Heiser. “I think folks who use it would like to see it faster, as well.”
“I’m in full support of expanding this park, making it bigger, making it a beautiful park, giving those residents a sense of pride. So, let’s do our best,” concluded council member Miguel Zuniga.
The city is accepting community feedback; those interested in providing comments can visit www.surveymonkey. com/r/Steeplechaseplayground to take the survey.
To listen to the full presentation, visit bit.ly/4hKeIXd. Kyle City Council will meet next Feb. 18.
