Lincoln City Parks & Recreation (LCP&R) has announced a public “open house” for a new Sandcastle Playground to be built in Regatta Park.
The event launches the development, planning and conceptual design of a new ADA compliant playground in Regatta Park.
The public is invited to come Saturday, May 25th from 10a.m. until 12p.m., at the current Sandcastle Playground location in Regatta Park, 2700 NE 14th St in Lincoln City.
The current Sandcastle Playground was built with community assistance and volunteers in 1992 and quickly became the most popular park attraction in Lincoln City. It is still extremely popular today even after 34 years.
In 2016, an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) play area was constructed next to the original Sandcastle. This play area utilizes an ADA-compliant rubber play surface, including rubber mulch from recycled tires and synthetic turf. The new Sandcastle Playground is also planned to have an ADA rubberized and synthetic surface.
During routine preparation for continued Sandcastle repair, LCP&R hired a company to do an assessment of the playground structure. What they discovered was, after 32 years of use despite having been very well cared for, this much-loved playground has reached the end of its useful life and must be replaced.
The original materials used in the playground were pressure treated wood and were found to be 10+ years beyond its intended life span. With continued drainage and material issues, and needs for improved ADA accessibility, LCP&R wants to focus on replacing this playground as a whole with a new one, pending important public input.
According to Jeanne Sprague, LCP&R Director,
“Everyone loves the Sandcastle Playground, especially its design. It was built by our community volunteers in 1992, and generations of families have played there. As we move forward with the Sandcastle replacement project, we want the public to meet our playground design team, we want to hear what they love about the existing Sandcastle Playground and what types of play elements they would like to see in the new playground, and which overall theme they prefer.”
Community engagement is a vital part of the design process for the new Sandcastle Playground. At this Open House, the design-build team led by K&E Excavating, DOWL Engineering, and Understory Landscape Architecture, along with Parks & Recreation staff and Advisory Board, will be gathering feedback from the public. There will also be an option for an online survey for public not able to attend the Open House.
LCP&R is planning for the new Sandcastle playground construction to occur in 2025.
Sprague continued, “Our focus right now is public input on the new Sandcastle playground. Once we hear what our community wants, we’ll then move forward with final design and construction. We invite all to be involved with the design.”
For continued updates on the Sandcastle Playground development in Lincoln City, see: https://www.lincolncity.org/departments/parks-recreation
