Tacoma, WA updating 5 public playgrounds across city

TACOMA, Wash. - Children across Tacoma will soon get to play on all-new equipment thanks to a slew of playground renovations underway. 

Five new play areas will come from renovations in South Tacoma, Eastside, North End and Northeast Tacoma in the coming months. 

While the playground at Oakland Madrona opened in late January, those at Cloverdale and North Slope Historic parks are set to fully open by late spring heading into early summer. 

Oakland Madrona park (Source Tacoma Parks)

Lincoln Heights Park design processes are underway in South Tacoma. This project will reportedly not only replace aging equipment, but also provide updates to the nearby park plaza, bus stop, and South Steele Street playground entrance.

Students at local schools have had opportunities to write essays about what should be included in the park. One student said the spaces needed to be more accessible to kids with disabilities. 

North Slope playground concept in Tacoma Washington (Source: Tacoma Parks)

Stacia Glenn with Parks Tacoma wrote about the community input for the projects, saying the following about accessibility. 

Making the playground more accessible "would help them a lot because they would get to know people," one third-grader wrote. "They would learn that they are part of a community."

What they're saying:

"Playgrounds are important because they bring out the inner child in all of us," said Park Board President Matt Mauer. "They’re not just physical spaces, but rather catalysts of joy, creativity and imagination."

The renovations will be funded through bonds voted on in 2014, according to a new statement on the project from Parks Tacoma. 

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