Mercerdale Playground Renovation Project

Demolition is underway at the Mercerdale Park Playground as crews prepare the area for the new playground equipment!

City crews are in the process of clearing out old materials to make way for the new playground equipment install at Mercerdale Park, slated for this fall.

Keeping it Green! Old wood chips from the existing playground will be recycled into mulch creating 200-250 cubic yards of mulch! This helps keep costs down and material out of the landfill. The mulch will be used across nearby public planter beds to conserve water, stimulate plant growth, and help control weeds naturally.

In mid-May, the City Council approved the Mercerdale Park Playground Renovation project. Demolition began earlier this summer, with a goal of reopening the park in early fall. Unfortunately, Playworld, the manufacturer of the playground equipment, experienced a significant fire at their plant in early May, delaying the delivery of playground pieces.

Staff are pleased to report that the manufacturing lines have reopened and Playworld is working extended hours to catch up. Mercerdale Playground equipment is back in the production queue!

Crews are continuing to prepare the site for eventual delivery of the new playground equipment. Current delivery ship estimates are early October.

At its May 18 meeting, the City Council approved the Mercerdale Park Playground Renovation project. The City Council amended the budget and formally accepted the generous donation of $20,000 from the Mercer Island Preschool Association (MIPA) for the improvements. The City again appreciates the assistance of the Parks and Recreation Commission in evaluating multiple design alternatives. To view the meeting presentation, click here.

City crews have begun site prep work by decommissioning most of the existing structures and removing them from the Park, except for the swings. After finalizing the design and ordering equipment, staff anticipate the new playground reopening in late summer 2021; the well-known train-themed play structure will be replaced sometime this fall.

Let Kids Play! has determined that both playground options currently being considered for Mercerdale Park are Certified Inclusive according to its May 3 report. The report states, "Both of the designs do an excellent job of providing various physical, social and sensory experiences." Both designs offer seven out of eight types of physical play. Both designs engage the five sensory systems the analysis considers.

The report states, "Option 1 puts its challenge into climbing. That design's structure goes up to 96" with challenging climbers at the end of that structure.... On the other hand, Option 2 puts it challenge into spinning. The Double Cone Spinner is a wonderful piece."

A core tenet of inclusion is that the "Coolest Thing" at the playground is accessible to all. The train, a custom creation for Mercerdale, is identified as "the Coolest Thing." It states, " Every child can have a meaningful play experience, whether wheeling in to drive the train or climbing up to the top. The train offers physical, sensory and social experiences."

The Mercer Island Parks and Recreation Commission will be discussing both options at its meeting on May 6.

Apr 27, 2021 - Project Update: The City's Certified Playground Safety Inspectors have recently reinspected the equipment and confirmed that most of it no longer meets standards and needs to be removed. In early May, City crews will begin site prep work by decommissioning most of the structures and removing them from the Park, except for the swings. After finalizing the design and ordering equipment, staff anticipate the new playground reopening in late summer. The well-known train-themed play structure will be replaced and updated, but since it is a custom piece, it will likely not be installed until sometime this fall.

At the April 14 meeting, attendees expressed their preferences on a number of design choices using the Zoom meeting polling feature. Color, surfacing, structure height, climbing and spinning options were among the topics covered. This was followed by an open question and answer session with attendees. Polling results,xternal link, the the slideshow presentation, and Q&A notes are available on this page in the Documents Library. Archived meeting video is available on our YouTube Channel

The next step will be on May 6 when the Parks and Recreation Commission will review design choices that result from the input received April 14 and on this Let's Talk page. Written information will be available a week before the meeting on the City's meetings(External link) page.