Community plays with ideas for new park

Carrboro kids soon will be slipping down spiral slides, ascending twisty climbers and slithering through tunnels thanks to a new Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department project at Baldwin Park.

The department held a meeting at the Carrboro Century Center on Thursday evening to gather community input on new playground features for the park.

Features that were discussed included bubble, dinosaur and tic-tac-toe activity panels, race car panels and playship anchors.

"Swings are a must. Kids love the swings," said local resident Linda Carver.

Anita Jones-McNair, director of the recreation and parks department, said her department has budgeted $40,000 for the new playground equipment and ground cover.

"I want to see a lot of happy faces. It's for the community. It's for the kids. We get our greatest joy from those happy faces," she said.

No date has been set for the installation of the new equipment.

Most playgrounds feature a protective ground covering, such as sand or rubber padding, to protect children from a potentially dangerous fall.

Rosalind Council, a Carrboro resident, expressed concern regarding the use of sand as a ground cover.

"When we go out, we have to comb that sand to make sure there aren't things in that sand," she said. "There are some strange people who use that park."

Rubberized tiles are one alternative ground cover.

Rubber tiles can be puzzle-pieced together and glued down, though officials said they are more expensive than sand.

"We want to make our citizens happy, but also we need to be able to maintain the playground," said Kokeita Miller, facilities operation officer for the department.

"We want something that meets the needs, meets the budget, is safe and also have money left over to take care of the ground cover."

Miller said rubber tiles still hold advantages over sand tiles because they can be repaired one small section at a time and don't wash away.

Recreation department officials and community members also emphasized the fact that they want the park to be accessible to every child.

"I want to make a park that is suited for children with disabilities. If other children can utilize it too, that's a good idea," Council said.

Department officials dismissed ideas to install see-saws and merry-go-rounds in the park because the items were deemed unsafe.

The old equipment at Baldwin Park is 11 years old, and Jones-McNair said it was time for a change.

"It is preventative maintenance," she said. "Between 12 and 15 years is a good basis of when you might want to replace your equipment."

The property now at Baldwin Park was donated by the Henry Baldwin family in 1970 to St. Joseph's CME Church.

In 1980, the town of Carrboro purchased the former Baldwin property from the church.

"I know opening day will be a joyous occasion," Jones-McNair said. "I want the community to be able to benefit from the equipment."

The department plans to hold another meeting to garner community input, but has not yet fixed a date.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.