City testing new style of rope play set at Manito Park

Four-year-old Eno Creen was enjoying himself on a warm afternoon last week, climbing on a new rope play set at lower Manito Park.

“It looks like a spider web,” the boy remarked.

The play equipment, installed last month, features a 16-foot-high rope climb up a pavilion-shaped structure – something that does look a bit like a spider web. It’s designed to spark children’s imaginations and challenge them.

Designed by a German company called Berliner, the installation at lower Manito is a new design for Spokane, said Garrett Jones, parks planning manager.

“I am surprised how well the little kids can climb on it,” said Diane Kurtz, of McMinnville, Oregon, who was watching her 4-year-old great-granddaughter play on the set like a pirate looking for treasure.

The set also has a small slide, captain’s wheel, rope ramp and smaller rope climb.

The company’s website describes the playground set as “a great endeavor for little conquerors.”

Called the Pentagode M Castle, the play set cost the city $57,400 for the equipment and an additional $83,000 to prepare the site by removing the previous play set and installing the new equipment and sidewalks.

The total project cost is more than the department’s usual annual budget to replace playgrounds, about $50,000 a year, said Fianna Dickson, park spokeswoman.

Jones said the city is using lower Manito as a test to find out whether the Berliner sets should be used at other playgrounds when the time comes to replace aging play sets across the city.

“This is a great opportunity to try something outside the box,” Jones said.

Upper Manito Park has a more traditional platform-type play set for those who prefer that type of entertainment, he said.

The new set replaces a wooden one installed in lower Manito in 1993 that was rotting and breaking apart, officials said.

A few dozen playgrounds were installed in city parks as a result of a bond that passed in the late 1990s.

The ropes in the new set employ a company design called “soft rope.” The rope has a tension system that’s easy to work on and the overall design should be easy to maintain, Jones said.

He said the architecture of the set is interesting to the eye, and that it also affords good sight lines so that adults can keep an eye on their kids easily.

So far, the set has been drawing large numbers of users throughout the day, officials said.

Steve Nittolo, horticulture supervisor at Manito, said he has not heard of any injuries since the play set was opened.

The structure is designed to “catch” children who fall, Dickson said.

Jones said the play set passes safety standards and that the layers of rope strung in a net-like fashion will catch climbers if they slip.

“There is always a risk involved,” he said. “But this is no more risky than a traditional playground.”