James City County Parks and Recreation hosted a community meeting to share renovation and design plans for a new playground structure to replace the existing Kidsburg playground at Mid County Park, 3793 Ironbound Road.

Why: The current 24,000-square-foot playground was constructed in 1994 and does not meet current ADA guidelines nor does it fully meet today’s standards for public-use playgrounds.

Who’s paying: Project funding was appropriated by the James City County Board of Supervisors as part of the Parks and Recreation Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) budget. Safety: The project will be fully ADA compliant, universal and barrier free. The new proposed 30,000 square-foot playground will meet current accessibility and safety guidelines and standards. Playground Amenities: Kidsburg playground amenities will include a general play area, a ship replica (21-feet wide x 36-feet long) and a swing area. In addition, there will be a separate gated area for children aged 2 to 5. Dependent on funding, a spray pad element is still being considered. A water park was never a consideration for Kidsburg.

Your input: Please take a few moments to review the designs on the following pages. To share your comments and concerns, please complete a comment card available online here or you can email your comments to  parks.rec@jamescitycountyva.gov.  Please forward your comments and concerns no later than August 3.

Next Steps: Construction of the new playground is scheduled for October 2012 with a spring 2013 completion date.

Questions: Contact Nancy Ellis at Nancy.Ellis@jamescitycountyva.gov or call 757-259-5412.

 Fence Pickets: If you purchased a fence picket at Kidsburg, and would like it back, please call 757-592-0495 and leave your name, the name on the picket, your phone number and a message. You can also request your picket online here

The pickets will be available for pick up in fall 2012 when playground renovations are scheduled to begin. A plaque will also be installed at the park to honor its history and those individuals and businesses who supported the park through fence picket purchases and as volunteers

Proposed Highlights for Kidsburg Playground—Age 2-5 Area ●(4) custom enclosed seat swings with log themed uprights ●custom canoe ●4-foot hollow log crawl ●wagon double slide ●log wall slide ●ground level cannon ●firewood climber ●log steppers ●Blacksmith climbing wall ●barrel crawl with anvil climber ●lookout bubble ●telescope ●interactive cannon ●upper and lower bell ●maps ●(2) shade structures ●custom fence w/wood themed posts and safety gate

Proposed Highlights for Kidsburg Playground—Age 5-12 Area ●13,000+ square-feet of play surface using engineered wood fiber and poured in place surfacing ●giant wave climber ●custom made ship 21-feet wide x 36-feet, 8-inches long with interactive bell and cannon sounds ●(4) shade structures ●100-foot zip line with launch platforms ●custom 8-foot high rock climber with slide ●(2) ADA accessible Zero-G chairs ●(5) custom built nature climbers: 3-foot boulder climber, 4-foot stump climber, (2) 5-foot log climbers, 6-foot tree root climber ●(8) belt seat swings ●(2) tire swings ●rope bridge ●single and double vine climbers ●6-foot learning wall climber ●(7) multi-level ADA accessible platform stations with activity boards and slides with transfer platforms on each play structure