Council reviews final Hatch Park playground equipment and accessibility plans

Design consultants returned to the March work session with refined visuals and clarified details for Hatch Park's playground areas, focusing on inclusivity and how equipment integrates with the park’s sloping terrain. Mike Wannenberg, the presenter, described a range of off-the-shelf and custom pieces including an overhead ICRA spinner, a double zip line (one traditional seat and one bucket seat for inclusive access), a net-integrated crawl tunnel and a large climbing structure the team referred to as the "Qantas." "We're trying to use the slope as an opportunity instead of a constraint," Wannenberg said while walking councilors through the model.

Council members pressed designers on surfacing choices, ADA transfer points and places for children to rest or engage in imaginative play at the top of climbing structures. The team recommended a mix of artificial turf and pour-in-place rubber surfacing, with rubber preferred on steeper slopes to avoid long-term stretching of turf. Wannenberg also confirmed the design will show accessible loading areas, transfer platforms and a bucket seat option for the zip line to expand inclusive play opportunities. Council feedback included requests for additional small platforms on the large climbing structure so children can pause and play, added seating near toddler areas and potential trade-offs if budget pressures require removing lower-value items such as some musical "noise-makers."

Next steps: staff will incorporate council input into the final design package and proceed toward the bid/contracting phase; council signaled that major shifts at this late stage would slow the schedule.