State-Of-The-Art
Playground At Hartley Park To Open Sunday
Clara Blue of Jamestown poses at the butterfly climber at the Lakewood’s Hartley Park new playground.
The Lakewood Community Development Corporation (LCDC) will host the grand opening of the playground at Richard O. Hartley Park from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, and the ribbon cutting ceremony, led by the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce, will take place at 1:30 p.m. Submitted photos
Clara Blue of Jamestown poses at the butterfly climber at the Lakewood’s Hartley Park new playground.
The Lakewood Community Development Corporation (LCDC) will host the grand opening of the playground at Richard O. Hartley Park from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, and the ribbon cutting ceremony, led by the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce, will take place at 1:30 p.m. Submitted photos
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LAKEWOOD -- Playground installation is complete at Richard O. Hartley Park, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Sunday.
The Lakewood Community Development Corporation (LCDC) will host the grand opening celebration from 1 to 3 p.m., and the ribbon cutting ceremony, led by the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce, will take place at 1:30 p.m. Rain or shine, the event is open to all playground donors, community members and their families to enjoy, according to playground project manager Scott Mekus.
The LCDC, community stakeholders, playground design experts, and village officials worked together to develop and approve designs for a dynamic, nature-inspired, Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant play space.
Vice President Ted McCague said the construction was in two phases -- fall and spring. Previsouly McCague told the Lakewood Board of Trustees that a lot of time and care was taken to choose the right playground apparatuses.
"This project is truly a community-wide effort with supporters too numerous to mention here. Our celebration on Sunday is intended to acknowledge and thank all who made this wonderful new playground possible," McCague added.
Mekus said the state-of-the-art, all-inclusive playground with a 2- to 5-year-old and 5- to 12-year-old play area features natural colors and several unique installations. These include two hill racing slides, a Skyrun zip track, a custom imaginative-play nature clubhouse, inclusive seesaw, merry-go-all, challenge rings, overhead and leaning climber ladder, hypetic spinner, three stump/double vine climber, expression swing and more. Additionally, there are two new walkway entrances and a staircase connecting the two play pads.
The project was developed in collaboration with the village, GameTime, Titan Development, Inc., Leaf + Stone Landscape Architecture, Sivak Stone Masonry, RMS Services of WNY, FSC Systems, Heritage Resources LLC, Village Attorney John LaMancuso and several other area organizations, Mekus said.
In December 2021, a $456,200 grant from the state was announced for the village to be used for Hartley Park. The grant allowed the village to upgrade the playground equipment while also addressing outdated infrastructure, including the installation of rain gardens, shade trees, landscaping with erosion control measures and other improvements. The park is located at the end of Chautauqua Avenue in the village.
The grant was announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul as part of $196 million for 488 projects across the state, while the funding was awarded through the Regional Economic Development Council Initiative.