Apologies for the delay in sending out an update regarding the Powers Field Playground project. Since Mark’s last update sent on August 14th, the scope, complexity, and estimated cost of the project has increased considerably due to the Commonwealth’s regulations designed to make public spaces accessible and safe for people with disabilities. According to MA law, an accessible route must be provided to each piece of play equipment and around the perimeter of the playground. The route must be “firm, stable, and slip resistant.” Up until recently, the Town of Hingham believed engineered wood fiber playground chips would satisfy the Commonwealth’s accessibility requirements. However, we have since learned that while a wood fiber product may comply at the moment of installation, prolonged use may cause them to no longer meet the standards. As a result, the Town is presently uncomfortable using wood fiber for the accessible route.
Alternatively, we could use poured-in-place rubber as it meets both fall safety and accessibility requirements. However, the cost of poured-in-place rubber is considerably more expensive (ie approximately 7x the cost) than engineered wood fiber playground chips. So where do we go from here, and what’s the timeline? First we need to come up with a proposal that the Town is comfortable with. Toward that end, we are seeking “opinion letters” from reputable outdoor recreation suppliers/installers who have years of experience installing playgrounds in the Commonwealth, along with the manufacturers of engineered wood fiber playground chips. While prolonged use may cause a wood fiber product to no longer meet the standards, we believe that the cost and ongoing maintenance to ensure a firm, stable, and slip resistant route is low. After we get the Town’s approval, we will solicit community feedback on a few different designs featuring a variety of play structures. We will then incorporate your feedback into a final design and specification that we will put out to bid. Once the bids come in, we will know how much more we need to raise in order to fund the project. To summarize, the high-level timeline is as follows: 1. Get sign-off on site plan and materials from Town of Hingham - mid December 2. Get community feedback on play structures - mid January 3. Close on play structures - end of January 4. Get bids from vendors - end of February 5. Begin capital fundraising campaign - March Though the cost and complexity of the playground project has increased, we remain committed to restoring our neighborhood playground. On behalf of Mark Cullings, Lisa Tonon, and Katie Zandbergen, I want to thank you for your continued patience and support. As always, feedback or suggestions are welcome. Michael Monteiro
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3/20/2023 11:34:38 pm
We know how to make things unique. Beautiful. Memorable. Instagram-worthy. Something to talk about. Our focus is on natural play. Contact with the wood, water, sand. Touch. Feel. Explore. Dare. Experiment.
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