A new playground is in the works for the north end of Asa Bales Park, and a collaborative process between city staff and Westfield Middle School (WMS) students helped decide the design.
Katie Wolf of Westfield Middle School examines a design concept for Asa Bales Park. (Photo provided)
“We started thinking about what a new playground could look like and wanted the public input we seek to actually come from the students we expect might be using the equipment,” said Mayor Andy Cook. “We set up a series of meetings with student representatives from WMS to determine what their needs were, and then eventually asked them to vote on the design they liked best.”
The new playground design is a climbing style play structure geared towards an older age group. The playground will include a climbing rock, netting, basket and traditional swings and artificial turf similar to what was recently installed at Quaker Park.
“I thought it was cool that they came to talk to us about how the park was going to be built and they gave us a decision to make,” said Lila James, a seventh grader at WMS. “It was nice to be included in the decision.”
“This was an exciting opportunity for our students to be involved in the democratic process,” said Christine Kelly, a social studies teacher at WMS. “The students are eager to play on the playground once it is installed.”
“I am so glad that the city reached out to our students,” said Kelly Day, a seventh-grade teacher at WMS. “This is a great opportunity for the middle school kids to feel connected to and invested in their community. The students had such great ideas and insight about the playground. Students this age are so eager to be heard and to get involved. It meant the world to them that the city desired to know what they wanted.”
The play equipment previously located in Asa Bales is nearly 20 years old and has required more and more maintenance in recent years. The city is removing that equipment in the coming weeks.
The playground on the south end of the park will be replaced with a Gaga Ball pit, which is a dodgeball-like game played inside of an octagonal pit. A fitness course will also be installed near this area in the spring of 2018.
To stay up-to-date on this project, follow the Westfield Parks and Recreation Department on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For more information on Gaga Ball, visit gagacenter.com/nyc/about/what-is-gaga.