Sligo-Dennis Local Park – Playground Project

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Project Description

This project will renovate the existing playground while providing improved stormwater management.  The playground is located just north of the intersection of Dennis Avenue and Sligo Creek Parkway, between Sligo Creek and Sligo Creek Parkway. This project is being coordinated through the Parks Playground Renovation Program. Additional site improvements around the park activity building, picnic area, and the courts (basketball and tennis) are being funded through the ADA Program- Accessibility Projects and will be done separately. 

Local Park Playgrounds are typically around 5,000 square feet in size and include playground equipment to meet the needs of children ages 2 to 12. Typical types of equipment include swings, composite play structures with slides, and freestanding pieces of equipment such as spring rockers and spinners. The playground will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and adequate seating will be provided around the playground’s perimeter for caregivers. Construction of the project will likely be phased so that all facilities remain open throughout. Work will be coordinated with ongoing ADA site work. 

Background

The wooden composite play structure, spring rockers, and swings adjacent to Sligo Creek are heavily used by neighborhood residents and Park Activity Building users alike. Last renovated in 1990, the play equipment has reached the end of its life expectancy. The playground’s location within Sligo Creek’s 100-year floodplain creates maintenance challenges, as the site floods regularly, washing the engineered wood fiber mulch out of the play area and damaging the equipment. 

Parks staff studied several alternate locations for a new playground in the park, including sites on the west side of Sligo Creek. The parking lot immediately south of the Park Activity Building was originally selected to be the site of a new playground because of its location outside of the 100-year floodplain and its proximity to the Park Activity Building, parking, and other park amenities. However, in order to maintain the park’s existing parking capacity, new pull-in parking spaces needed to be created along the west side of Sligo Creek Parkway.  While this configuration is similar to parking configurations elsewhere along the Parkway, the spaces would need to be spread in three separate areas along the park boundary.  Upon further evaluation, staff determined that this configuration is not desirable from a safety standpoint given the levels of pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicle traffic that converge in this area.  

Status/Project Update

*Update March 2023: Construction is scheduled to begin late-March or early-April. The existing playground will remain open during construction. Approx. 5 parking spaces will be closed during construction. The existing playground will be removed at a later date, following final completion of the new playground.

This project began in 2018 and considered reconfiguring park facilities.  Upon further review, the project is being simplified while still providing the planned facility improvements.  After reviewing the community’s comments on the selection of the play equipment, a new concept was developed using the preferred pieces of the respondents on the Parks Open Town Hall.  The Modern City equipment was popular with the older age group and more traditional activities were favored for the 2-5 age group. 

Please see below for renderings of the equipment. 

• Rendering

Calendar and Meeting Notes

Links to review meeting notes and presentations will be attached to each applicable calendar event as scheduled and completed.

* Date and time subject to change. Please contact the project manager for updates.

Staff Contact

Evan Dintaman, Project Manager | Evan.Dintaman@MontgomeryParks.org | 301- 495-2464