RAPID CITY, SD—Effective Monday, the playground at the west entrance of Canyon Lake Park will be closed to public access for three weeks for installation of new turf padding at the playground site.
Crews from the City’s Parks Division will spend 7-10 days removing the wood chips and fabric layers, and adding in several inches of gravel. During the week of May 19-23, ForeverLawn of Hermosa will install a new turf padding surface on the site. The material is similar to turf material at the Sioux Park and one of the Legacy Commons playground areas.
City Parks Division Manager Scott Anderson said the turf surface requires less maintenance than the loose fill and wood fiber material. The turf is also an ADA-compliant surface, allowing individuals with mobility issues to better navigate the playground area.
“With any new playground installation, we plan on either using the turf surfacing or a poured-in-place rubber surface to minimize the day-to-day maintenance and to enhance the ADA component,” Anderson said.
“It will take about three weeks for all the work to be completed, from collecting and pulling up the existing material to putting down the new turf surface. The public has responded positively to the turf material at the other sites and this will be a nice upgrade to the Canyon Lake Park playground facility, which gets a lot of use.”
During the closure period of the west-side playground, Anderson suggests parents and families utilize the other Canyon Lake playgrounds at Shelter 1 and Shelter 3, as well as playground facilities at Sioux Park and Wilderness Park.
Anderson said Parks crews will also be replacing the surfacing at two additional playgrounds at Legacy Commons in the near future.
