City of Olympia seeks input on design of future Lions Park sprayground

Olympia’s east-side residents will soon have access to a new water feature. City of Olympia Parks, Arts & Recreation plans to build a sprayground in Lions Park, and is currently asking the community to vote on their favorite design.

Community members have until Oct. 18 to vote on three design options. The designs are similar, with colorful fixtures and numerous tiny fountains, but each has different fixtures and a different layout. As of Monday, Option A was leading in the poll.

The sprayground is slated to open by summer 2022 at the park at 800 Wilson St SE. The park was established in 1946 by the Olympia Lions Service Club and Eastside Neighborhood Association.

The Lions Park sprayground will be the second sprayground the city has opened. The first was installed at Woodruff Park on Harrison Avenue Northwest and opened in 2019.

Cities are moving toward adding spraygrounds and slowly phasing out wading pools, said city of Olympia Parks Planner Sarah Giannobile.

“We were trying to put more interactive pieces in this and make it different than Woodruff, so that it would have a different vibe from what we already have,” Giannobile said.

Construction at Lions Park will most likely begin at the end of 2021. Giannobile said the city also is adding walking paths, paving the parking lot and paving a strip along the west side of Lions Park for additional parking.

Parks, Arts & Recreation secured a state matching grant from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office for $500,000 to build the new sprayground.

Olympia Parks, Arts & Recreation is currently gathering community feedback to shape its 2022-2028 plan. The six-year plans set priorities for the department and guide decisions. The plans are based on input from community members.

Parks, Arts & Recreation will continue gathering feedback from the community through the winter. It will then draft the plan and bring it before the city council, which is expected to adopt the final version in March 2022.

This story was originally published October 7, 2020 at 5:45 AM.