TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

Rebuilt Whites Road playground now open

LANSDALE >> It’s been in the works for years, and local residents say it’s well worth the wait.

Under cloudless blue skies last week, residents visited the newly upgraded playground at Lansdale’s Whites Road Park for the first time.

“I just found out. This is our first time here — it’s great,” said Samia Keddan.

Last September borough council approved a $530,000 project after several years of planning, to replace old playground fixtures with new, handicapped-accessible equipment, while making accessibility upgrades to the park entrance.

New playground equipment was delivered on Sept. 24, construction started in early October on trail upgrades, and the playground itself closed in midOctober and remained a construction site until late May, when the borough announced the playground’s opening and posted a set of before-and-after photos on the town’s Facebook page. Borough officials

and council have also applied for grant funding to cover the costs of installing a new restroom near the playground.

On a visit Wednesday afternoon, June 16, about a dozen kids could be seen running around and through the updated slides, steps and platforms, trying out a set of colored chimes, and taking the occasional spill onto fresh wood chips.

As she spoke, Samia watched her sons Elian and Adam clamber up a mountain-shaped rope structure, all connected around a central vertical pole, as they each took turns pretending to be Spiderman.

“I think they’ll be here all summer,” Samia said, as the two boys freed themselves from their web and ran over to the playground’s slides.

Just steps away, a handful of kids took turns shooting basketballs at a series of hoops, each a different color, height and angle, for an extra challenge. As they tossed up shots — and the occasional airball — Jebair Rahman said his favorite NBA players were Stephen Curry, LeBron James and the late Kobe Bryant, while Tangirul Ashan said his favorite was also Bryant, and Anthony Bernard said his favorite was Kyrie Irving.

“What’s my favorite part?

To be honest: everything,” Rahman said, before dribbling away and swishing a shot.

DAN SOKIL — MEDIANEWS GROUP Elian Keddan, left, casts a web while pretending to be Spiderman as his brother Adam climbs to the top of a rope mountain structure at Whites Road Park in Lansdale on Wednesday, June 16.

DAN SOKIL — MEDIANEWS GROUP Samia Keddan, at right, smiles as her sons Elian, at bottom, and Adam climb down a rope mountain structure at Whites Road Park in Lansdale on Wednesday, June 16.

DAN SOKIL — MEDIANEWS GROUP Kids take shots at a series of colored basketball hoops at the recently rebuilt Whites Road Park playground on Wednesday, June 16.