Adjacent to a school and with a kindergarten theme, a Ridgewood park’s redesign aims to combine learning with play.
The Department of Parks & Recreation presented plans to renovate Evergreen Park, next to P.S. 68 on St. Felix Avenue, to parents and residents on Monday, September 24.
“Now, there’s really nothing for small children to do,” said Steve Whitesell, landscape architect for the Parks Department.
The area of the 3.3 acre park that will undergo changes currently consists of bocce ball and shuffleboard courts that residents said were rarely used and desolate.
They will be replaced by a play area designed for 2 through 5 year olds. Whitesell designed the area based on the original German kindergarten — the idea of play as educational experience and learning in a garden, he said. The area will contain a telescope, a “Talking Bob,” which is an interactive game, and a music panel that will allow children to learn as they play.
A water play area will also be relocated and will be installed with water-saving measures. Shrubbery at the park will be partially watered through the retaining of rain and sprinkler runoff ensuring Evergreen will be a green park.
Funding for the playground comes from $1.1 million secured from the City Council by Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley.
The grounds were designed after meetings and input from the community.
This is only the first of several phases to completely revamp the park.
“Glendale and Ridgewood residents will soon see their tax dollars hard at work as the Parks Department transforms Evergreen Park into a beautiful oasis for the community,” said Crowley. “I have stressed the importance of capital investments since being elected, and I’m proud to have worked with Parks to move this project forward.”
Construction will take approximately a year and is planned to begin next summer.
