Politics & Government

Opportunity Park Gets a Facelift

The playground at Allen Pond Park is being renovated and replaced this month.

The city of Bowie will breathe new life into Opportunity Park this month with a full renovation of the decades old playground.

The playground, which is located in near the boathouse, will be torn down sometime this month and replaced with a new, updated structure, according to Ed Hall, the city of Bowie’s superintendent of parks and grounds.

The original freestanding structure was put into place in the early '90s and was one of the first fully accessible playground structures, said Hall, providing play opportunities for all kinds of differently abled children.

According to Hall, playgrounds usually last about 25 years, so the one at Opportunity Park is being replaced right on target.

Kids don’t need to worry—all their favorite types playground equipment will still be available when the park is renovated. The plan is to replicate the present structure and bring it up to current safety standards.

“We’ll also be separating the playground, as is preferred,” said Hall, who went on to explain that the new playground will feature two different structures—one for children ages 2 to 5 and one for ages 5 to 12. Each structure will be identified with appropriate signage.

In addition to replacing the freestanding play structures, the park also will be completely resurfaced. The old rubberized surfaces beneath the equipment will be removed and replaced with new poured-in-place rubberized material. The engineered wood carpet near the tree line also will be replaced.

The entire cost of the project, including surface replacement, old equipment removal, new equipment purchase and assembly, will cost just less than $250,000.

Hall is hoping to have a pre-construction meeting with the vendor this week. All the new equipment has been purchased and is in storage, waiting to be installed. He hopes the new park will be ready for use in early October.


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