Radnor parks director outlines options for Odorizio Park playground; residents press for clearer input

Tammy Cohen, Radnor Township’s director of parks and recreation, opened a May 14 public forum to present conceptual playground and pavilion ideas for Odorizio Park and to gather resident feedback. Cohen, who said the Odorizio effort began in February 2022, reiterated that the session was a public forum only — there was no quorum and no votes would be taken.

The plan on display flips the current comfort-station location and places an expanded pavilion and restroom near the upper parking area to provide better sight lines to the baseball and soccer fields, Cohen said. The design team also proposes improving accessibility from the West Wayne Avenue and Fairview parking lots, and reducing an impervious blacktop area along the third-base line to create more contiguous play space. “We’re taking this from 50,000 feet down to 10,000 and then schematic design will tell us if it will work,” Cohen said, describing the next step as a schematic design phase that will test stormwater conveyance, soil percolation and grading.

Why it matters: stormwater runoff and hillside erosion are currently undermining the ball field and trees above the play area, Cohen said, and those engineering constraints will drive costs. She told attendees that staff has identified some park-impact funds as potential sources but that formal budget approvals will depend on schematic estimates the Board of Commissioners will need to authorize.

Residents pressed for clear opportunities to shape final choices. “How are we going to give input on deciding the actual items and things included?” asked Jackie Baver, a neighbor on Westway Avenue, who asked for a timetable and a process for reviewing concrete equipment options. Cohen replied that staff will compile survey and meeting feedback, ask manufacturers for schematic proposals, and aim to present several iterations for public review within the next month or two so the township can produce order-of-magnitude costs for the Board’s 2027 budget planning.

On accessibility and materials, Cohen emphasized inclusive features — adaptive swings, communication boards and lower-deck tactile elements — noting national prevalence of developmental disabilities and community requests for all-abilities play. She also reviewed surfacing options and trade-offs: poured-in-place rubber surfacing is more expensive but more accessible, while engineered wood fiber (EWF) is less costly now but may present future accessibility or supply concerns. “I would highly suggest…going with a poured-in-place type of surface” at this site, she said, while also acknowledging cost implications.

Residents raised safety and maintenance concerns. Multiple attendees objected to sand pits because of animal waste and upkeep; others asked the township to avoid equipment with known long-term repair needs, citing a costly repair to a climbing feature at another township park. Cohen confirmed she will ask Public Works to inspect rusted metal on current equipment and consider short-term fencing as a temporary safety measure prior to full construction.

On parking and layout, Commissioner Howard Childs said removing the upper blacktop would open additional contiguous field space. Cohen clarified that the Fairview parking lot would remain and that staff plans to expand usable parking on West Wayne and at Fairview while removing the impervious area at the third-base line to permit stormwater remediation and additional play area.

Next steps and public engagement: Cohen said staff has solicited proposals from playground companies and expects to have schematic iterations available for public review within a month or two, subject to vendor schedules. She encouraged attendees to sign up for an Odorizio newsletter and said the schematic-design authorization will be routed to the Board of Commissioners. Commissioner Childs offered to help distribute flyers and canvass neighbors to sustain momentum. Cohen closed by thanking participants and noting the session was being recorded for later viewing.

The meeting concluded with no formal actions taken; staff will return with schematic options and cost estimates for public review and for commissioner consideration.