The Exploradome is a 13-foot domed structure with a variety of rope ladders and other play features. There’s a large rope to walk across, a mini-swing and a bridge, along with poles to slide down, said Jonathon Turlove, associate planner with the city’s parks department. He said it’s the third in the country.
LBA Park, at 3333 Morse-Merryman Road in southeast Olympia, will get the city’s first zipline. The 100-foot line will allow children to glide a couple of feet off the ground, Turlove said.
A small, rotating feature with a climbing net and new swings were part of the project, which Turlove said cost about $250,000.
The playground has been closed about two months while the play equipment was installed.
“The existing playground there was 23 years old,” Turlove said, adding that it had reached the end of its designed life. He said several Olympia parks have playgrounds that reached the end of their lives at the same time.
A playground replacement is under way at Yauger Park on the city’s west side, where the equipment was more than three decades old, according to Julie McQuary, parks projects coordinator.
The Yauger playground, which likely will reopen in early October, will feature a “mega-tower” – a three-level tower with giant tube slides, McQuary said.
Climbers, spinners, a teeter-totter and new swings will be part of the project, which is accessible to people with disabilities, she said.
The fences just came down on a brand-new playground at a brand-new park, Kettle View Park at 1250 Eagle Bend Drive, McQuary said. That’s in the Briggs Village development off Henderson Boulevard at Yelm Highway.
The park features a playground with climbing structures, swings and a grassy play field, McQuary said. A formal grand opening is set for Sept. 23.
And there’s one playground to come – at Percival Landing. The city had planned to keep the old one a while longer, but when contamination was discovered on the ground, the playground had to be removed.
It’s set to open by the end of the year and will include a spinning, climbing feature and swings, Turlove said.
Matt Batcheldor: 360-704-6869
mbatcheldor@theolympian.com
