For the safety of Kaua‘i children, new playground equipment is being installed at four county parks at Anahola Village, ‘Ele‘ele Nani, Kapahi and Kekaha, Mayor Bryan Baptiste said yesterday at the Lihu‘e Civic Center. And that type of work will
For the safety of Kaua‘i children, new playground equipment is being installed at four county parks at Anahola Village, ‘Ele‘ele Nani, Kapahi and Kekaha, Mayor Bryan Baptiste said yesterday at the Lihu‘e Civic Center.
And that type of work will continue at other county parks in the future, Baptiste said.
“It’s important that our children expend their youthful energy in positive ways,” Baptiste said in a statement. “Having new equipment installed at four of our parks will provide youngsters with safe, fun places to go to and play.”
Baptiste said the work is in its final phases and is scheduled to be completed Oct. 2.
Some of the playgrounds targeted for the replacement of equipment may not have been used much in the past because of their deteriorated condition. But with new equipment in place, more young families are likely to stop by the parks, Baptiste said.
Site Engineering, based on O‘ahu, won a county contract totaling $335,398 to oversee the multi-park project, Baptiste said.
Since June 5, the company has poured concrete foundations and placed rubberized surfaces on the playgrounds and installed the equipment.
County parks administrator Mel Nishihara said a 360-degree spiral slide, wave slide, vertical climbing wall, spiral climbing pole, balcony deck with steering wheel and a tic-tac-toe activity panel were installed for older children.
Straight crawl tunnels and gear panels were installed for younger children.
A single-post swing set with two seats was installed for children between 5 and 12 years old, Nishihara said.
“It’ll be really nice for the children when the project is completed,” said Nishihara, who is making plans for the next round of playground equipment replacement.
The new equipment at Kapahi Park was installed more than 10 months after Jerome Freitas, a self-described government watchdog who goes by “The Shadow,” complained old equipment at Kapahi Park posed a danger.
He said the county is on the right track now in trying to meet the demands for safer facilities by residents.
“I appreciate very much that they are looking into that,” Freitas said of the program to replace worn and sometimes dangerous equipment. “Donald Fujimoto and his staff, I want to work with them.”
As the county engineer, Fujimoto leads the Kaua‘i County Public Works Department.
Baptiste said all playground equipment is replaced as part of a regular maintenance program he has set up.
“We take care of what we have first before we take on new things,” Baptiste said.
