HoCo Holler: Cedar Lane Park West

On Saturday we had made plans to meet up with some friends for a picnic. We were running late, grabbed some sandwiches from Subway, arrived at Cedar Lane Park, and no one was there. Well, that's not quite right. There were plenty of people there enjoying the beautiful day, but our friends were nowhere to be found.

We sat down, I checked my email, and discovered we had come a whole week early. Well...

It was a beautiful day. We had our picnic anyway, and a little bit of unplanned family time, just the three of us.

The last time we went to Cedar Lane Park West, we were disappointed. The playground was GONE! It was one of our favorites. I suspect it had been built in conjunction with the needs of students of the old Cedar Lane School, as parts of it appeared to be disability-friendly. It was on two levels, with a wide variety of equipment. When we saw it had been removed, we were sad.

A quick tweet brought reassurances from HoCo Rec and Parks that a new one would be going in. But then time passed, Margo got older, and we really forgot all about it.

Well, the playground is complete and beautiful. In addition to all new play equipment for children, and a nice squishy surface underneath, there is an area for adults with exercise equipment. My husband was fascinated. He tried each one, so then Margo did, as well. Once they got started, all sorts of folks came over to try them. It seems they needed someone to break the ice.

This is an ideal location. There are playing fields nearby, which means that while older kids are playing in organized sports activities, mom or dad can bring the little ones over to play. There are benches, picnic tables, rest rooms, and a drink machine. (I didn't check to see if they offfered any unsweetened choices, though.)

A few suggestions:

1) I wish they could incorporate a small shade structure as a part of the playground. A respite from the sun would be lovely.

2) Put a labeled map of the park on that big bulletin board in front of the park buildings. It's crying out for one of the "You Are Here" variety.

3) Update your web page! It still states information that predates the playground rebuild. Toot your own horn--display up-to-date photos and describe the new equipment.

A big HoCo Holler to John Byrd and HoCo Rec and Parks for the update of this playground. We loved it and will be going back--next week, in fact, for the real picnic with our friends.

hocoblogs@@@

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