OROVILLE – The Feather River Recreation and Park District will sound like the new year with the new Riverbend Park playground.
The new play area, Bear Rock Playground, will include a “carousel” climber large enough for many children to play and spin at the same time; several smaller rotating climbers designed for one or two children at a time; and, several large outdoor instruments.
A large xylophone with 13 fiberglass bars that look like marimba and can be played with large mallets that are joined by cables. Another outdoor instrument looks like a lily cluster – 10 aluminum, silver and anodized discs that can be played with one of the three attached mallets. The third instrument is a sculpture made from pipes similar to those of the organ, which can also be played by playing with a mallet.
The new play area will be completed by colorful shade structures designed as large flowers.
“We have a beautiful traditional playground with swings and a slide next to the football field. We believe that children will love the musical and musical equipment of this new play area. It has been very popular in other playgrounds and playgrounds, ”said Shawn Rohrbacker, general manager.
Bear Rock Playground will replace the water play area. Although the water play area was a popular park, there were several issues, including the water source and drainage; electronics to power sources; and the floods made its maintenance unviable.
“We know the water play area was a favorite and we want to move it to another of our parks, maybe Playtown USA, but we’re still evaluating locations,” Rohrbacker said.
Before deciding on a design for the Bear Bear Patio, FRRPD organized four public workshops to gather input for the community. Initial site preparation began in late October and the cost of the new playground is $ 250,000, including new equipment.
The project funds came from insurance money raised by FRRPD after the unprecedented floods of 2017 following the rupture at the spill of the Oroville Dam.
Instead of replacing all the grass and associated irrigation present before the 2017 flood, FRRPD changed substantial areas of Riverbend to a drought-tolerant landscaping, eliminating the need to replace and maintain an irrigation system for that area. In this way, money was saved from the district which was used for other improvements and projects in the park, including the amphitheater, a car park next to the football field, the paving of the road to the lake, the reconstruction and improvement of the beach and the installation of the new playground.
“We have worked with the public to create the new playground with innovative equipment. It will provide a place for children to exercise and stimulate their musical curiosity, ”said Rohrbacker.