New Play Area Finished at French Regional Park
Things are hopping at French Regional Park these days. A brand new $1.25 million playground is now finished, replacing the old one which opened in 1989.
“It’s beautiful,” said Lindsay Tholen who was visiting the park with her kids. ” We love how big it is. They have a lot of awesome features for the little guys.”
Checking out the new park.
The play area opened on Friday, August 17 and became a social media sensation over the weekend. Since then, the park has been busy.
“Today is by far our busiest day yet,” said Jill Caffee of the Three Rivers Park District.
The French Regional Park playground has a huge footprint and all the bells and whistles that appeal to kids.
“They are loving the rolly slide,” said parent Mallory Grams, “They love it.”
There is a 29-foot tower, six slides, 47 nets to climb on, a play area for young children and even some spraying mist to cool off on a toasty day.
“We’re excited about the water features that they added in,” Tholen said. “We think that will be really nice for the summer’s coming up and we really like that they kept some of the ropes and everything.”
Accessible to everyone
The play area is also ADA friendly with a ramp that is accessible to everyone.
“Mira has Down’s syndrome and this park has been perfect,” said Cheryl Anderson who brought her granddaughter to the park. “She can go almost anywhere she wants to go.”
Credit for some of the design goes to kids from Park Brook Elementary School in Brooklyn Park. Their input was used extensively in the two years of planning.
“They picked the color scheme on the play area,” Caffee said. “They decided what swings we were having. The decided on the racing slide on the far end and they were very intent on keeping the nets and the climbing.”
So far the playground is playing to rave reviews and is one more reason why French Regional Park is a hot spot.
“You should come here,” Filson said. “It’s a really nice park and they have done really well with the place.”
