Duluth approves Taylor Park playground

Construction of the new City Hall last year caused the city to remove the playground equipment out front, but soon residents can bring their children to play on new equipment to be built at Taylor Park this fall. City Council unanimously approved to amend the Parks Master Plan to submit this proposed design which will be built adjacent to the Town Green.

This new set of equipment will be different from the previous in that it will not be "destination" equipment, rather meant for people already enjoying downtown or living nearby. Parks and Recreation Director Kathy Marelle said this is to prohibit busloads from coming downtown just for the playground. In other words, this new playground will not have something like a large jungle gym.

"We faced several challenges in finalizing the design," Marelle said. "We want it to be inviting and mix the characteristics of the old downtown, also we want to preserve the trees that are already there. Also, we faced challenges with the space since we have less to work with than before."

What this playground will contain will be a variety of pieces designed to help kids get up and moving, as Marelle said health and exercise were a priority. But she said over the years most playground equipment that adults grew up with has been deemed unsafe and will not be there. Gone are long slides and merry-go-rounds.

Since this is Duluth and trains have had a long history in the city, there will be a mockup of the old Duluth Depot and an interactive train model where children can climb on it and slide down.

Designed not to clash with buildings downtown, the equipment will be in more neutral colors instead of the bright blues and yellows found at other playgrounds. The train was shown in the presentation as being blue, but Maxine Garner, the chair of the eight-person steering committee overseeing the project, said it would actually be forest green or black.

This playground has been in the making since March, with the steering committee presenting their findings to the Parks and Recreation Board in March. If all goes to plan, this will go out for bids next month and construction will start in October. Currently there is $260,000 budgeted for the project.

In other business, council continued their debate on overlay districts in the downtown and Buford Highway corridors of the city. This plan for two overlay districts – which will bring particular architectural standards to the area to promote revitilazation – was tabled at the previous meeting to incorporate changes from the public hearing.

Because council still had several concerns, such as the possibility of drive-thrus and how to regulate hotels and motels (with particular interest in not permitting extended stay hotels), the decision was postponed until the next meeting, Sept. 8. This caused council to once again extend for two weeks the moratorium on development on Buford Highway until the overlay district is approved.
- www.gwinnettherald.com

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