New Playground at Peter Kirk Park Downtown Almost Ready

Kids are already clamoring to climb all over the new playground structure at , and Kirkland Parks and Community Services operations manager Jason Filan says it should be ready in about a week.

“I’ve been getting a few calls,” he said. “We’ve had a few delays, (but) it should be finished in the next week or 10 days.”

All the installation work is being done by a Kirkland Parks crew, which has struggled with the very wet weather over the last several weeks. It is the same crew used for more urgent repairs needed periodically at other parks, Filan said.

“We do all the work in house, and the same crew handling this is also our repair crew,” he said. “We’ve had to pull them off a couple times, and the rain makes things a mucky mess and hard to work.”

The previous playground structure at the downtown park was installed in the 1990s, had become worn out and was removed in February. The parks department had hoped the new one would be ready last month.

However, much of the $58,472 structure is in place, and it will feature a climbing wall, monkey bars, ramps, two slides and other fun stuff.

Kirkland Parks maintains 24 playgrounds and each lasts from 12 to 17 years, so it replaces one or two each year. As soon as the Peter Kirk playground is reopened, the crew will move on to replace the aging playground structure at Houghton Beach Park.

Filan said that new structure arrived last week, and he hopes to have it installed and open by the end of May.