First Hill Park Playground Replacement

Thank you to all the community members who commented on the proposed site plan for the First Hill Park playground this summer! The City received 46 unique comments, which Berger is using to adjust the site plan and prepare for permitting. Staff anticipate beginning the permitting process in September and will post the refined site plan when available.

Additionally, Berger continues to explore options for providing a safe hillside climbing experience to replace the slide that will be removed as part of this project. If a suitable hillside feature is identified, it could be installed during a later phase of renovations.

The play equipment selection and site plan concept for First Hill Park Playground are now available for community review and comment! Read through this post, which provides more information about how the design was developed and equipment was selected, or check out this summary slide.

After reviewing the site plan concept, share your comments on the proposed design and equipment here:

Comment on the site plan concept

Comments will be accepted through July 8, 2024, and feedback will be used to finalize the site plan and play equipment this summer.

Click the graphic for a PDF of the site plan concept.

CLIMB & SLIDE! - Details for the Multi-Level Tower Selection

• The refined site plan includes the three-story tower option (pictured) to maintain the park's history as an exciting sliding and climbing environment.
• Two slides are attached to the tower. One is a wiggle slide, and both are open-top slides, which align with preferences voiced in the survey.
• Inside the tower, kids will find different opportunities for climbing, crawling, and other exploring. Images of play inside the tower are provided below.

Views from inside the three-story tower proposed for the play area.

CONNECT! - Nature-Themed and Younger Play Opportunities

• Written survey comments asked for more features for younger children. A crawl tunnel, platform steppers, and themed play seats have been added to link the proposed tower and swing structures, giving play opportunities for more ages.
• Comments also highlighted the park's relationship to nature. Nature-themed components were selected to maintain that feeling within the play area.

Themed elements maintain the connection to nature in the park and provide play opportunities for younger ages.

SWING! - Protecting Trees and Diversifying Play Options

• The existing swing space has been repurposed to site the three-story tower in the proposed design. Locating the tower here helps protect the play area's many trees!
• A new saucer swing (example pictured) is proposed for the north end of the play area to maintain swinging at the park and diversify play options on Mercer Island.
• While the First Hill playground equipment survey did not ask for specific input on swinging types, the survey for Roanoke Park showed great support for installing a saucer swing at one of Mercer Island's playgrounds. The design team proposes implementing this play option at First Hill Park.

Now that you know more about how the design was developed, provide feedback on the site plan concept here.

Thank you to the community members who completed the First Hill Park Playground Equipment Survey. The survey closed on April 14 and received 164 responses, including 400 written comments! Berger Partnership, the consultant collaborating with the City on this project, is still working through all the community’s great feedback and needs more time to thoughtfully develop a conceptual site plan. That concept will be shared on Let's Talk when ready.

In the meantime, this post provides an overview of the survey feedback as well as the existing conditions and opportunities being considered for the site.

Having trouble reading the graphics? Click here or on any one of the graphics to access a PDF of all three.

Playground Equipment Survey Results

The digital survey on playground equipment and other site features was open March 20, to April 14, 2024. It was promoted through a variety of channels, including:

• Let’s Talk
• City social media
• MI Weekly
• Mercer Island Preschool Association
• Mercer Island School District

The City received 164 responses, including 400 written comments about how community members use the small sport court at the park; interest in swings at the play area; and other feedback related to play preferences and site amenities. Highlights from the survey results are provided below.

High-level summary of survey results compiled by Berger Partnership, the City's consulting partner for the First Hill Park Playground Replacement project.

• 98% of respondents said their household does or will visit First Hill Park. Of those respondents, 55% have 5–12-year-olds at home and 45% have 2–5-year-olds.
• A little less than half (48%) of respondents use the First Hill basketball hoop, while 39% said they use the sport court for rolling activities as biking, scooting, and skating; playing tag, catch, and four square; drawing with chalk; hosting community events; and other activities.
• 50% of respondents supported repurposing the existing swing area to make room for new and unique play equipment at First Hill.
• Respondents preferred curved slides to straight slides (69% to 12%) and overwhelmingly preferred open-top sliding to closed tube sliding (57% to 28%).
• Community members gave great feedback on the two multi-level tower structures shown in the survey. Stay tuned for the release of the conceptual site plan, which will give more details about the preferred structure.

Existing Conditions and Park Opportunities

The graphic below shows the existing site conditions at First Hill Park.

Existing conditions documented by Berger and the City.

The play area and surrounding park space present many opportunities that Berger and the City are exploring for the conceptual site plan. Opportunities include:

• Linking play elements with an accessible pathway throughout the site;
• Taking advantage of gaps in the tree canopy to locate new play equipment;
• Using the existing swing area to add new swinging experiences on the Island; and
• Placing new seating throughout the park.

What about the hillside slide?

Many community members shared their love for the hillside slide at First Hill Park in the survey comments. Installed in 2002, this slide starts near the treehouse structure and sends users down the hillside along SE 32^nd Street. To return to the main play area, sliders must walk up and around the park via SE 32^nd Street and 72^nd Avenue SE or scramble back up the hillside. This structure will be removed as part of this playground replacement given its age, accessibility challenges, and other issues. Berger and the City are exploring other play elements, such as climbing equipment, that would maintain the unique hillside play experience while promoting safer play with the existing topography.

Park opportunities are identified in the graphic below and will inform the concept for the new play area that will be posted on Let’s Talk soon!

Site opportunities under consideration for this project.