New playgrounds on tap for two parks

Two aging Lisle Park District playgrounds are in line for face lifts this spring that should make them safer, more attractive and more useful.

Park leaders recently met with residents to collect their input on the kinds of equipment to be installed at Candlewood Park in the Oak Hill neighborhood and New Albany Park in Green Trails.

The wooden playground equipment at both parks was installed in the mid-1990s and has begun to splinter and deteriorate, Executive Director Dan Garvy said.

The new equipment, constructed primarily of aluminum and steel, will be safer and easier to maintain.

The district has budgeted $40,000 for the project - $20,000 for each park. Garvy said the district will solicit bids next month and then meet again with residents to determine which configurations they prefer.

He said he hopes district crews will be able to install the equipment in May or June.

The swings and slides will be placed within the existing playground boundaries along with new signs and a wood-chip surface that's handicapped accessible.

Garvy said the work - including the removal of the old structures - will take about three weeks.

He said the district's playgrounds are on a 15- to 18-year replacement schedule, but the district has been willing to extend it if the equipment remains structurally sound.