It’s hard to believe it’s been more than a year since we held our community feedback event in the Park and posted our last playground update, but we’ve been very busy and made a lot of progress since you last heard from us.
Thanks to everyone for continued feedback and input on the playground design! Since last fall, we have worked with TWMLA and Earthplay to refine our design, engaging with City of Albany Department of General Services (DGS), Recreation, and City Hall to develop a workable plan that represents alignment of the public’s “dream” designs and practical considerations such as safety, maintenance, and programming.
In this process, we hired Kaaterskill Associates to conduct a topographical survey of the playground area in the Park – see file on the side bar to view the resultant map. We’ve also worked to provide input and context for the City of Albany’s traffic study, Complete Streets, and the community-led Walkable Albany initiative, both of which will have significant impact on the new playground. We were able to share an iteration of the design drawn in response to the September 2021 public meeting with DGS and talk through finer points; maintenance, availability of water elements, etc. Please see the side bar to view a version of the concept design in plan form. We are looking forward to an upcoming meeting with the City of Albany during which we will discuss the most current concept design plan and rendering as well as an estimate of probable cost. We look forward to sharing the working design in the next month!! From here, we will be able to move forward with a fundraising strategy to supplement the significant funding commitments already made by the City of Albany, the New York State Assembly, and Albany County.
Stay tuned here for a projected timeline, the final concept design and plan, and information about the construction phase. As always, we welcome comments and questions – please direct these to Sarah Read or Michaela Roberts through our website contact form.
