Playground update: New equipment arriving soon

The excavation and grading stage of construction is complete, and soon, new playground equipment will begin to arrive at the Forest Hills playground.

According to the latest update from the District Department of Parks and Recreation: “You may notice a brief increase in truck traffic to the site at both the Brandywine and Chesapeake Street entrances. Flaggers will be present to ensure smooth delivery and safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists.”

DPR also notes progress in installing block walls and “bio-retention areas” in the playground. Also known as rain gardens, they give rainwater a place to settle and soak into the ground and help prevent pollutants from flowing directly into local streams. And you can see the block walls being installed within the playground and at the new basketball half court.

Site of the basketball half court.

To address any noise concerns about the half court to the south of the tennis courts, a noise-reducing surface will be installed.

A previous DPR design update revealed a change in plans for the adult fitness equipment going in along the walkway between Brandywine and Chesapeake streets: “Note that the plan showed space for 5 pieces, and with the cost of the new equipment, 3 pieces will be installed. These pieces, however, have multiple activities on them, for a total of 6 fitness activities at the park.”

The equipment is manufactured by Kompan.

The adult exercise equipment chosen for this project are the Kompan core cycler (left), complete body toner (center) and cross trainer (right).

By the time Forest Hills playground reopens this fall, Friends of Forest Hills playground and ANC Commissioner Sally Gresham will have been working with DPR for almost two years.

“Our Forest Hills Playground Task Force is thrilled with the updated site plan,” Gresham says. “The community is receiving many of the design elements requested.”

Those include the adult fitness equipment, several picnic areas inside the playground in addition to a large picnic/community circle area off the pathway between Chesapeake and Brandywine, and security LED downward lighting along that path.

At this point, Gresham’s main concern is to the east of the playground and just south of the baseball field, which has become overgrown and even blocks the Brandywine Street sidewalk between the recreation area and 31st Street. Gresham says she “hopes this existing overgrown ‘no man’s land’ will be included in the exciting new playground area’s overall design.”

Still have questions about the work? Many frequently-asked questions were addressed in this article.