After the equipment at Washington Park is installed, the work crews from Flagship Recreation will begin work at playground installation at Lincoln Park.

The New Ulm City Council approved the installation of new equipment at the two parks earlier this summer. The project will also include adjustments to the wood chip playground container.

At Washington Park, the playground equipment being replaced is designed for children aged 5 to 12 years old. Park and Recreation Director Joey Schugel said the Washington Park equipment was the oldest in New Ulm’s system. It was installed in September 1999 and has reached the end of its life. This playground also sees heavy use from the neighborhood, in part due to its proximity to New Ulm Area Catholic Schools.

The new equipment for Washington Park was designed by Flagship Recreation, which provided the city with three design concepts. These design concepts were shown to a group of New Ulm Area Catholic School students, who were expected to use the equipment the most. The top-voted option was selected for installation.

Flagship Recreation staff raises arches on a new bridge play features at Washington Park.

Schugel said the size of the wood chip container around the playground will also be reduced. This will save the city on maintenance costs without reducing the number of play features at the park.

Schugel said they are hoping the Washington Park playground installation will be complete by the end of the week.

“Once it is installed, our crews will put in the wood fiber,” he said. The playground will not be open to the public until the wood fiber surface is put in place. “We want to get to the surface as soon as possible.”

After the Washington Park equipment is installed, Flagship Recreation crews will move on to installing the Lincoln Park equipment. The playground equipment at this park is for 2- to 5-year-olds. The old equipment will be removed, replaced and relocated. The Lincoln park equipment is currently located separate from the main playground equipment near the Lincoln Park wading pool, called the “tot lot.” By moving the new tot lot equipment closer to the main playground, the Park and Recreation will be able to reduce the size of the Lincoln Park park container as well, further lowering maintenance costs.

Schugel said the installation at Lincoln Park is expected to be completed quickly.

Last week the installation of new playground equipment began at Washington Park. The playground equipment being replaced is designed for children aged 5 to 12 years old. Before the installation, the equipment at Washington Park was the oldest in New Ulm’s system having been installed in 1999.

“The Lincoln Park equipment is basically one big piece,” Schugel said. “It should not take too long. It could be ready to go potentially next week sometime.”