Bettendorf staff outline $‑series playground upgrades for Edgewood, Lincoln and Friendship parks

John Burns, Bettendorf parks and recreation director, told the City Council committee of the whole on Sept. 2 that staff will bring final playground purchase proposals for Edgewood, Lincoln and Friendship parks to the council for approval in two weeks.

Burns said the recommendations reflect extensive public input and include new modern playgrounds, a rentable shelter at Edgewood, a parking‑lot reconfiguration at Lincoln (to be funded from a separate budget) and improvements intended to serve older children at Friendship Park. "This is round 1 for Edgewood," Burns said, describing the projects as the first phase of longer‑term work guided by the city's master plan.

The projects grew from neighborhood meetings at each park that Burns said averaged more than 150 in‑person attendees and produced nearly 700 in‑person interactions across the three meetings. Burns said the parks department used different engagement exercises at each site, including a $50,000 sticker budget exercise at Lincoln in which residents allocated three…