PORT ANGELES — It’s time for a new dream.
The volunteer-built Dream Playground that opened at 302 S. Race St. on Sept. 11, 2002, one year after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, was largely demolished Saturday to make way for a new design expected to be opened in late June.
“Volunteers will put together a health and safety plan, connecting with county health department to be in compliance with health measures,” said Steve Methner, president of the Dream Playground Foundation, on Friday.
So long as Clallam County doesn’t experience a resurgence of COVID-19, “we’re going with a June 21 community build,” he added.
Fundraising also is on track, with some $515,000 raised for the project and a new large donor recently joining the effort.
The Charno Family has offered a $30,000 matching grant for donors giving between $25 and $500.
“It is really major for us, and if the community takes full advantage of it, it will likely be what gets us to our goal,” Methner said in an email.
The cost of the project at the Erickson Playfield near Civic Field has increased since last fall. A shortage of some materials due to the pandemic has resulted in additional charges from suppliers of the fiberglass reinforced lumber used in the playground, Methner said.
On Monday, the Dream Foundation board will consider moving the fundraising goal from $520,00 to $545,000, he said.
The new design aims to take care of two major community concerns: sight lines and the play surface.
Parents disliked being unable to always see their children at play, so the new design will have a central seating area and fewer “hidey-holes” that obstruct a person’s view — and which also offered nighttime shelter to those seeking a place to sleep outdoors.
“It should be much more visible for parents and caregivers and for law enforcement,” Methner said.
The wood fiber play surface of the original playground made it difficult to see objects, such as keys that had fallen out of pockets or hypodermic needles left behind by drug-users who were known to frequent the park after dark.
A child was pricked by an empty syringe near the playground in 2018, leading to an online petition to replace the wood chips with rubber matting.
“We’re really excited that we have pivoted to a very short artificial turf surface designed especially for playgrounds,” Methner said.
“It’s very clean, anti-microbial material, and short so you can see anything dropped on it.
The surface also is safe for children; it has a 10-foot fall safety rating.
Other features: a larger central tree house, wheelchair-accessible swings, climbing features and spinners.
And the dragon that was removed earlier this month? It’s coming back as part of a 110-foot zip line specifically for playgrounds, about 2 or 3 feet off the ground.
An excavator operated by Greg Hopf of Port Angeles-based 2 Grade, LLC tears down a portion of the Dream Playground at Erickson Playfield in Port Angeles on Saturday to make way for a new play structure scheduled to be built this summer. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
“If you’re 8-feet-tall, you’re probably going to drag your toes,” Methner said.
Also planned to be incorporated into the new playground are a totem pole carved and donated by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and tile kiosks with hand prints from children in 2002.
City officials have purchased nearly $118,000 worth of playground equipment for the new and improved Dream Playground. Local schoolchildren helped design the original playground, and a Play by Design consultant toured elementary schools to gather ideas for the second generation version.
Volunteers already are signed up to help construct the new playground but more are needed, Methner said.
People with every level of skills are welcome, although “we need people who know their way around saws and hammers,” he said.
A hypodermic needle and other debris sits on the ground after it was uncovered during Saturday’s demolition of the Dream Playground at Erickson Playfield in Port Angeles. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
To help, either by volunteering or donating — or both — go to the Dream Playground Foundation website at padreamplayground.org
There, volunteers can sign up, donors can buy bricks or fence pickets or simply give funding, and all can find information and a design schematic of the new playground.
Corporate sponsors in addition to the Charno Family include the Kiwanis Club of Port Angeles — the founding sponsor — First Federal, Hartnagel’s Building Supply and Angeles Millwork, Sound Community Bank, 7 Cedars, Platypus Marine, Pacific Office Equipment, Swain’s General Store, Committed Accounting Services, Albright Networks, Rinehart Consulting, Port Angeles Rotary Noon Club, Angeles Furniture, Jim’s Pharmacy and Captain Joseph House Foundation / Betsy Reed-Schultz.
________
Executive Editor Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3530 or at lleach@peninsuladailynews.com.
Reporter Rob Ollikainen contributed to this story.
