Two new, adjacent, playgrounds at the east end of Hosek Park, 333 Harris Ave., are scheduled to be installed in May and ready for use in early June.
The existing playgrounds, one for children up to age 5 and the other for ages 5-12, will be leveled to make way for new playground equipment, said Don Scheltens, executive director of the Clarendon Hills Park District. Cost of the new playgrounds is $190,000, which is in the Park District’s budget, Scheltens said.
“The play experience with the new equipment will be very similar,” he said. “We’re not trying to completely change what we have, but the old playground was built about 2005, so it’s time for new equipment, with some nice improvements.”
Scheltens said the existing playground equipment is safe, but its age makes it very difficult, or not possible, to replace pieces that are broken.
Park Board President Suzanne Austin said “fun” is a key word when new playground equipment is being considered.
She said she is excited about the new playgrounds at Hosek Park, especially the addition of movable monkey bars and a surf board swing.
“We always want to do something that’s fun,” she said. “Kids get a little bored with swings. You need to have swings in a playground, but some other things that may be a little different always seem to get people interested.”
While the new playgrounds at Hosek Park are a focus for 2022, Austin said the Park Board plans to discuss adding a zip line at Steeve’s Park, 241 Eastern Ave.
“That’s the only place we have room to do that,” she said. “Zip lines aren’t cheap, but we’re discussing capital projects budgeting for the next five years, and it’s something we want to look into.”
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
