New playground at Lewis Park

Last week neighborhood families celebrated the dedication of a new tot lot at Lewis Park located at Wayzata and Marion Streets in Saint Paul’s North End. The new playground is on the grounds of the Lewis Park apartments, which is a totally accessible building. A design team made up of residents of the building created a wish list for the playground equipment. Then they got together with city parks and recreation designers to come up with the best type of equipment, ground cover, and lighting for the playground.

“The surface and equipment provides accessibility for everyone,” according to Bryan Murphy, a landscape designer with Saint Paul Parks and Recreation. “Parents can get right in with their kids.”

The playground is designed with safety in mind – the equipment is totally transparent so there are no hiding places. A special feature of the playground is a splash pad, the first in the city, which will be a place for city kids to cool off on hot summer days.

Funding for the playground was provided by Saint Paul’s Capital Improvement Budget Tot Lot Replacement program.

Mary Thoemke, a lifelong resident of Saint Paul, is a free lance writer for the Twin Cities Daily Planet.

News briefs- from the North End neighborhood of Saint Paul