Deane's Children's Park Site Plan

Affectionately known as Dragon Park, Deane's Children's Park is a much-loved community park located mid-Island, next to Island Crest Park. The site features an extensive playground with Kenton's Dragon, a play structure/sculpture created by artist Kenton Pies; a picnic shelter; restrooms; and the new Mercer Island Bike Skills Area (BSA).

Current play equipment was installed in 2005 and 2012 and is planned for lifecycle replacement over the span of the 2022 Parks Levy. During early work on the playground replacement plan, the City identified Deane's Children's Park as a good candidate for ADA improvements and conversion to universal play equipment. In addition to the playground equipment replacement, the park includes a picnic shelter and storage shed at the end of its service life, and the restroom is located outside the play area and not easily accessible. Finally, the Bike Skills area was relocated to Deane's Children's Park in 2023. Given the combination of these planning needs, the City made the decision to pause the playground replacement and pursue the development of a new Site Plan for Deane's Children's Park.

The Site Plan will incorporate universal design principles with a new layout and will aim to integrate the play area, park entrance, restrooms, parking, and picnic shelter more cohesively; improve navigation through the site, including how it coordinates with the Bike Skills area; enhance accessibility; and introduce new, diverse play experiences to the City’s playground system.

Join the City and the Project Team to develop a new Site Plan for Deane’s Children’s Park. Details about upcoming community engagement opportunities will be posted on Let’s Talk soon!

Looking for general information about Mercer Island playground replacements? Find it here: https://letstalk.mercergov.org/playground-replacements.