Playground upgrades swing into high gear

Columbus uses $4.5 million in federal funds for 23 parks

After walking the Scioto Mile together, Caleb Williams and his 7-year-old nephew, Miles Gobeaux, decided to make a stop at the new playground at Dodge Park and Recreation Center in Columbus’ Franklinton neighborhood.

Miles rode the swings, which he said are his favorite feature at the new bright orange and shining silver playground structure.

Williams said he wanted Miles to enjoy the playground before the late morning heat and humidity Tuesday ruined their fun.

The Dodge Park playground renovations were part of a total $4.51 million in playground renovations and improvements at 23 playgrounds in low-income neighborhoods across Columbus. The work was paid for using federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds allocated to the city.

Stephanie Garling, a spokeswoman for the city Recreation and Parks Department, said the most-recent round of playground improvements included playgrounds at these 11 park locations which are either completed or nearly completed:

h Dodge Park, 667 Sullivant Ave.

h Easthaven Park, 2360 Garnet Place

h Big Walnut Park at the Far East Community Recreation Center, 1826 Lattimer Drive

Mayme Moore Park, 867 Mt. Vernon Ave.

h Northeast Park, 2505 N. Cassady Ave.

h Mock Park, 2520 Mock Rd.

h Cooper Sports Park, 5740 Cooper Rd.

h Nafzger Park, 2845 Noe Bixby Rd.

h Riverside Green Park, 6650 Canaan Circle

h Indianola Park, 1501 Indianola Ave.

h Linden Early Learning Center Playground at Linden Park,1254 Briarwood Ave.

The improvements at these 11 playgrounds cost about $2.23 million, Garling said in an email to The Dispatch.

By using federal CDBG funds, Wade said the city was able to double the number of major improvements made to playgrounds in a given year. That means that 12 more Columbus area playgrounds will also undergo improvements this year:

h Marie Moreland Park, 1659 E 12th Ave.

h Smith Road Park, 1250 E Innis Ave.

h Maybury Park, 2551 Maybury Rd.

h Livingston Park, 760 E Livingston Ave.

h Sullivant Gardens Park, 755 Renick St.

h Waltham Woods Park, 2949 Wallcrest Blvd.

h Hilliard Green Park, 4915 Dori Park Dr.

h Kingsrowe Park, 2850 Petzinger Rd.

h Redick Park, 1301 N Hague Ave.

h Hilltonia Park, 2345 West Mound St.

h Kobacker Park, 570 E Kossuth St.

h Millbrook Park, 1691 Smith Rd. Those 12 playground improvement projects will cost $2.28 million and will serve nearly 30,000 residents living within a 10-minute walk of those parks, Wade said.

Wade said the improvements are meant to accomplish two main goals: address concerns of residents near these parks, and improve the safety and accessibility of the city’s playgrounds.

One major way to improve both safety and accessibility, Wade said, is through the replacement of a playground’s wood chips with rubber padding on the ground.

Garling echoed Wade’s sentiment and said the city is always trying to upgrade its playgrounds.

“We’re definitely always looking for ways to improve our playgrounds,” Garling said, “because we do want kids to have a safe and fun place to play.”

Gobeaux said the Dodge Park playground has “been pretty fun so far.”

Residents: Improvements important to neighborhoods

Williams commended the city for its playground improvement initiative.

“The more it shows you’re going out and being proactive is important to me as a citizen,” Williams said.

Williams, an East Side resident, also cited the importance of the city targeting low-income neighborhoods for the improvement project.

“It can make you feel neglected when your area is neglected,” he said.

When Kelly Syferd, 44, heard that Hilliard Green Park in her neighborhood would be undergoing improvements later this year, she let out a joyful yell. “That’s awesome! Yes!” she said. Syferd explained that while she has two teenage kids of her own, she also runs a daycare and practically lives at the park.

“We have a diverse community,” Syferd said. “We also have a lot of apartments around us, so we get a lot of people that come in from around our community as well … so our playground itself gets a ton of use.”

While she likes the current playground at Hilliard Green Park, Syferd said she welcomes the improvements. Specifically, Syferd is hoping for one addition with the playground work later this year.

“More swings,” she said. “We have two baby swings and big kid swings. We need more swings.”

She also noted the playground’s lack of accessibility.

“Our play structure is not accessible for a child in a wheelchair at all,” Syferd said.

But she hopes that replacing the wood chips with rubber padding will help solve that problem.

For Wade, the playground improvements are not only about creating a safe and accessible environments, but also showing Columbus residents the opportunities that lie just around the corner.

“I think it will open people’s eyes, you know,” Wade said. “It will give them fresh eyes on what’s available so close to their homes.” tcarlin@dispatch.com @timcarlin_

PHOTOS BY BARBARA J. PERENIC/THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Ebenezer Files, 6, of Columbus, plays on a ring at the newly renovated playground at Dodge Park and Recreation Center on Tuesday.

Moses Files, 4, of Columbus, rides his bike on the rubber surface of the Dodge Park playground on Tuesday. Ten other city playgrounds are completed or nearly completed, according to a city spokeswoman.