Hanford City Council approves new playground equipment at Earl F. Johnson park

Aug 10, 2023

Associate Editor / Reporter

The Hanford City Council has unanimously approved a $174,586.80 contract to replace the playground at Earl F. Johnson park.

The playground is around 14 years old, according to a staff report for Tuesday’s meeting. Parks and Community Services Director Brad Albert said finding parts and properly maintaining older playgrounds becomes prohibitively difficult as playground equipment ages.

“It’s due for replacement,” Albert said. “As they [playground structures] get older, it’s harder to find parts. The lead time to get parts is longer and longer. That means we have to shut the structure until it’s safe for use.”

The new playground design from Park Planet was found by surveying community members, polling residents at Reimaging Hidden Valley Park events and then showing the most popular park designs to 40 Hanford children between six and 13 years old. The Park Planet design presented to City Council was the most popular among the kids.

The new playground incorporates a more vertical design and rope ladders, potentially providing a challenge for the wide age range of kids who could use the playground. The design upgrades in playgrounds are designed to help youth develop social skills, creativity and motor skills, according to Albert.

Albert said that playground design is consistently evolving and sees consistent competition between top manufacturers for playground equipment.

“You’re seeing a little more creativity in playgrounds,” Albert said. “It used to be your typical slide, and this and that, but they’re evolving a bit. This structure has those features, but it’s also easy to see through. There are no blind spots. It’s easy for parents to monitor their children.”

The new playground will also be relocated to a new section of the park, moving from near Hill Street to right off of North Brown Street, according to preliminary documents describing the location change. The new location places the playground slightly closer to a nearby apartment complex.

“We think this place is much closer and much more accessible in the new location,” Albert said. “There’s a few trees in there that give shade.”

Albert added that the efforts to renovate the playground are the first stage in a planned three-year renovation for Earl F. Johnson.

“Stage two would be to put in a perimeter lighted path in, so people could walk around the park,” Albert said. “Year one and year two are already approved in the existing budget. For year three, we’re looking at what’s the next thing. Overall, what we’re trying to do is really activate Earl F. Johnson Park.”

Associate Editor / Reporter