Who would have thought it would take 26 years to build a playground at Golden Hills Park in Mesa, Arizona? Well, that’s how long neighbors in this quiet suburb of Phoenix had to wait. Golden Hills Park is 8 acres of open space with mature trees and some small rolling hills. Families in this neighborhood would naturally gather here for picnics, football games and just to hang out. The only thing that was missing was a playground.
“Lots of families live here,” Vice-Mayor Scott Somers said. “And it’s only one of two parks in the entire City that offer no amenities.”
“Our kids would have to cross Broadway Road to access a playground,” Mesa Resident, Michael Stack said. “We already saw two kids hit by cars because they had to cross this busy street. Something had to be done.”
Due to the lack of funding, the City of Mesa couldn’t allocate money to build a new playground. Instead, they reached out to the business community to see what could be done.
“Through generous donations, we were able to raise more than $100,000,” Mesa Parks, Recreation and Commercial Facilities Director Marc Heirshberg said. “I am always amazed at how our community steps up to help people they don’t even know. “ Donations from monetary to in-kind was seen on build-day, Saturday, May 14, 2011. More than 150 volunteers from across the valley came out to lend a helping hand and built a new playground at Golden Hills Park. The park now has play structures for both preschool and elementary aged kids. It features stepping pods, bouncing board and bridge, climbing rock wall, cargo climbing nets, a peek-a-boo wall, slide, glider and more.
The equipment is manufactured by Xccent Play and distributed by Arizona Recreation Design. The focus is on "motion" based units, featuring specialty components to promote dynamic play through "PlayMotion" activity.
An 80-foot shade canopy covers the entire play structure and was donated by Shade ‘N Net. This is the first play structure in a Mesa-owned park to have a shade canopy. Other new features for the park include two doggy pots, a picnic ramada, and a drinking fountain.
“We are more than thrilled to have this playground here,” Mesa resident, Christine Gant said. “My family and I had a wonderful time building this playground and becoming part of its history.”
Golden Hills Park is now complete! Thanks to the private and public partnership children now have a safe and fun place to play.
Look for this story in the upcoming issue of the NRPA Magazine
