Exeter plans $1 million Planet Playground makeover: Here are the top 3 designs

EXETER — One of the town’s most iconic playgrounds is being eyed for an extreme makeover.

The town’s Parks and Recreation Department is looking to reinvent Planet Playground at 4 Hampton Road, and is seeking input from residents. Three designs of what the new playground could look like have been selected and residents have until Aug. 31 to vote on which one they want.

From 25-foot slides to ADA-accessible zip lines, the new playground will focus on a universal design to accommodate everybody.

“Times have changed, now the town must change with the times,” said Greg Bisson, director of the town’s Parks and Recreation Department on why they are looking at reinventing the park. “Playground standards have changed tremendously.”

Bisson said the current playground is more than 25 years old and the wood is deteriorating. Several items have been removed from the playground due to damage and safety hazards.

A 2016 inspection of the playground by Leathers & Associates recommended a complete rebuild, noting the cost to renovate the park would be $200,000 to $230,000 while a new playground with a longer shelf life and minimal maintenance would be $280,000 and $320,000.

Bisson said Parks and Recreation sent a survey to residents in April asking them what elements they wanted to see in a new playground. In May, the department used that input to request designs from eight of the largest playground manufacturers. Responses were received in June and the town’s Parks and Recreation Department with the community’s help narrowed it down to three.

The top three designs were submitted by Miracle, GameTime and Little Tikes. 

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A nod to the old Planet Playground

As homage to the “iconic rocket ship” structure in the middle of the current playground, Robert Pettinelli, of Miracle, proposed a rocket-themed playground.

The centerpiece of the playground would be a nose cone of a spaceship as the roof of the 25-foot tower.

“The playground was designed to be an all-inclusive playground for disabled and able-bodied kids to play together,” said Pettinelli. “It’s an inclusive world – we have imported rubber so wheelchairs can get on the merry-go-round and kids can play with their friends … nets and climbers that are accessible as well as ramps to get up on the system.”

Pettinelli said most components of the playground will be a versatile playing area for kids with different strengths and abilities.

“It's the best of both worlds,” he said. “It’s for little kids and big kids, it’s for strong kids and weak kids at the same time.”

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An out-of-this-world playground

Jason Corbett, of Little Tikes, said their vision for Planet Playground also includes the “iconic symbol.”

But unlike the previous design, Little Tikes’ focus revolves around the entire solar system. That includes components such as a canopy roof with stars shading the tower and planet-like accessories on the grounds.

“As I was there visiting, they talked about what Planet Playground meant to that area and I wanted to keep that rocket ship as the central point and theme of the playground,” said Corbett.

With sensory learning in mind, Corbett said one of the components of the design is tactiles on the top floor of the tower with pictures on them. As kids touch each tactile piece, they’re going to hear the sound that comes with it, such as birds and waterfalls, he said.

To make the playground ADA accessible, the design includes ramp access as well as two zip lines – a traditional standing zipline and the other, a seat for ADA children or ones who do not have the upper-body strength to hold themselves up.

“The stars and the moon (on the flooring), these will glow in the dark,” said Corbett. “The rubber pallets will charge from the sun during the day and glow at night – not so much to promote nighttime play but for safety, visuals and cool experience as well.”

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A castle of a playground

Travis Ames, of Game Time, said the company went with a castle-themed playground based on the feedback from residents.

The surface, made from a combination of porta place rubber and wood fiber, is color coordinated to follow the theme – blue for the moat, brown for land and green for grass.

“Our goal for this was to create an incredibly unique playground based on the feedback of the wish list that was put together,” said Ames.

The playground would include ADA-accessible zip lines, net climbers and swings. It would also have a shade for a picnic area, a log crawl-through structure – made from customized glass fiber reinforced concrete – and three towers that have 8-, 10- and 12-foot slides.

"The castle theme is what we went with – there was a high response for that," said Ames. "We thought this would create a really unique playground for the town of Exeter."

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The next step

Residents have until Aug. 31 to submit their pick for the new design for the playground. The selected design will then go before the Recreation Advisory Committee and then the Select Board.

Bisson said the replacement of Planet Playground is included in the town’s 2023 Capital Improvement Plan and the plan is to go before voters in March for funding.

One issue is the town does not currently own the land where the playground sits. The town leases the property, but the lease has since expired.

Bisson said the new owner of the property is open to negotiating with the town on the purchase of the land.

The town, he said, also plans to apply for a federal grant with the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has a maximum award of $500,000.

“With the acquisition of the property and the renovation of the playground, it's about $1 million for the playground,” said Bisson, during the Aug. 11 Planning Board meeting.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exeter NH plans $1 million Planet Playground makeover