This is the existing Beasley Park's 20-year-old playground equipment that is deemed too boring.
Image Credit: Submitted/District of Lake Country
December 16, 2019 - 7:30 AM
Lake Country park planners are telling the world that playgrounds have become boring and they want the public to help them change that.
An online survey offers some specific choices on the types of play structures people want in Beasley Park as a model to reinvigorate other municipal parks.
“In the rush to prioritize safety and maintenance concerns, today’s playgrounds are often missing the creativity, challenge, and imagination that are beneficial to children’s physical, cognitive, and emotional development,” a promotion of the survey says.
The city has set aside $90,000 to redevelop Beasley Park, where the play equipment is about 20 years old. Work is expected to start this winter and be finished by next summer.
“This doesn’t mean ignoring safety regulations or discarding tried-and-true play equipment, but it does mean re-establishing a healthier balance between safety and the importance of play,” the promotional material states.
In the 1870s the park, which has a beach on Wood Lake and playing fields, was Thomas Wood’s cattle ranch then later became Alec C. Beasley’s farm with hay, chickens and vegetables.
So, the focus of the survey is on how to transform a “Life on the Farm” theme into play.
For example, people are being asked to pick three to five play structures in the Active Play section of the survey. It includes drawings of things like a balance course, stepping stones, rope bridge, towers, tire swings or rolling topography.
The survey closes on Dec. 31 and can be taken here.
These drawings are some of the choices offered for a redesigned, more fun, Beasley Park.
Image Credit: Sumbitted/District of Lake Country
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