The township plans to install new equipment to increase safety and make the park more accessible to those with disabilities.
The playground equipment at Laurel Acres Park is scheduled for an upgrade starting this spring.
In the coming months, the township hopes to begin replacing existing playground equipment at Laurel Acres Park with two new playground areas meant to increase safety and make the park more accessible to children and families with disabilities.
According to township officials, contractors will remove existing equipment and replace it with jungle gym areas with slides, bridges and ladders, as well as new swing sets and climbing bars.
The township also plans to replace the existing wood mulch at the park’s playground sites with a softer, safer rubber-flooring material.
Acting Township Manager Meredith Tomczyk said the project was selected due to resident feedback about the condition of Laurel Acres equipment in recent years.
“We don’t want our residents to have to go to another community’s park or playground. We wanted to be able to provide them with something here that we felt met their needs,” Tomczyk said. “We also wanted to bring in handicap accessible equipment so all children can enjoy the park.”
In addition to the playground upgrades, Tomczyk said the township also plans to add a second pavilion to the park to accommodate the large number of people who often reserve the park’s existing pavilion for functions such as picnics or birthday parties.
“The pavilion that we have currently books about a year in advance, and it’s already rented out most weekends,” Tomczyk said.
Tomczyk said the new pavilion would be constructed near the new playground area.
“It’ll be easier for residents to watch their children as they play,” Tomczyk said.
Tomczyk said the Laurel Acres upgrades are the first project to be funded as a result of residents voting in November to change the rules of how the township can spend money collected through its open space tax.
Due to the narrowly written rules of the township’s previous open space referendums in the past two decades, the township was only allowed to use funds collected from its open space tax to acquire new open space properties for preservation.
However, once acquired, any upgrades to those properties or facilities could not be funded through open space monies. Instead, the township had to use county grants or find available money in the township’s yearly budget.
Once the project begins, Tomczyk estimates the improvements will be completed sometime in the late spring or early summer.
“We’re really excited about it and we can’t wait,” Tomczyk said. “We’re going to start as soon as the weather permits.”
The project will also include new fencing surrounding the play area.
Tomczyk said the township does not yet have an estimated final cost for the project.
