Kids Give Playground Set A Swinging Endorsement Edgecliff Park Gets Sparkling New New Equipment

Rusting swing sets and cracking basketball and tennis courts pale next to the colorful new playground set at Edgecliff Park.

The elaborate, multi-colored playground equipment was installed last week at Edgecliff, between Sixth and Eighth on Park. On Saturday, the county Parks Department held a grand opening.

The best thing about the opening, said Wyn Birkenthal, manager of the Parks Department, was watching children get out of cars and catch a glimpse of the new equipment.

“The kids just took off into a run,” Birkenthal said.

Moving between interconnected platforms, the children swooped through three types of turquoise slides. One is a spiral, another is a tunnel, the third shoots straight down. They swung across yellow monkey bars, wobbled over a suspended bridge and spun cylindrical Xs and Os in a giant tic tac toe game.

“I just can’t believe how nice it looked,” said Valley resident Debbie Vaughn, who has worked with the Parks Department for the past two years to help secure the equipment. “I really hope the kids appreciate it and try to take care of it.”

Also at Edgecliff, the parking lots on Sixth and Eighth avenues both were paved, and handicapped spaces were marked.

In comparison to the basketball courts and tennis courts, one of which is missing a net, and swing sets, which have been painted over so many times, the chipped spots look like rainbows, the new equipment positively sparkles.

The swing sets, which no longer comply with safety standards, will be removed by the end of November, Birkenthal said. The Parks Department also would like to resurface the area shared by the tennis and basketball courts, but does not have the money.

“Costs are in the $90,000 range,” Birkenthal said. “Given other project commitments we have, the money isn’t there.”

Renovations to Edgecliff are part of a package of improvements planned by the Parks Department this summer and fall. County commissioners last year bolstered the parks department budget with $1 million from the excise tax on real estate transactions.

Among other planned jobs: sewer work at Sullivan Park has been finished, and sewer work at Liberty Lake and Terrace View parks will go out to bid within weeks. The irrigation system at Brown’s Park will be replaced in the spring.

, DataTimes