by Linda Bonder and Victor von Salza
Photos by Victor von Salza
Linda Bonder organized and led a cooperative effort between neighbors, donors, and the City that resulted in new safer playground equipment at Hamilton Park
Unsafe Aging Playground Equipment
Until the fall of 2001 the playground consisted of a merry-go-round with asphalt surfacing around it; a big old metal slide where little kids fell between the stairs, with little "turn-around room" at the top where shoes could get stuck sometimes resulting in a fall off the sides of the slide; a set of three teeter-totters; a swing set; and some rock art that kids climbed on.
The old playground equipment at Hamilton Park.
With its location in the heart of the Bridlemile neighborhood and next to Bridlemile Elementary School, Hamilton Park held great promise to be a valuable resource and meeting place for local families. But even on beautiful summer days, the park was virtually empty. People did use the park on soccer days, but many families were frustrated because there was no safe place for younger children to play.
Program Objectives
The overall objective of the Hamilton Park Improvement Committee was to make Hamilton Park fun and safe for families with children ages two to twelve. Our goal was to make the park a neighborhood draw, to increase the sense of community and safety in the Bridlemile area.
Play Structures
The new play structure with integrated slides and climbers is where the metal slide and merry-go-round used to be. One area of the play structure is most appropriate for smaller kids. A new swing set with child swings is near the play structure. The swings and play structure have a bark-dust type of ground surfacing that is wheel chair (and stroller) accessible. The old see saws and swings remain.
The New Playground Equipment.
An asphalt path now comes down from the road, winds around the new play areas, and connects to the school. The old water fountain will be replaced with a new, accessible drinking fountain.
Playground Dedication
The new playground equipment was officially dedicated at the August 6th, 2002 Bridlemile Picnic and National Night Out Celebration.
August 2002 BNA Picnic & Playground Dedication at Hamilton Park. Top to Bottom on play structure: Dan Saltzman, Linda Bonder, Kathy Bambeck.
In case you haven't been by the park lately, it has been fantastic to watch so many kids having such fun on the project that we all made happen.
FAQ - Answers to frequently askend quesions:
Q. How how much money was raised?
A. A total of $71,000 was raised.
Q. Who donated money?
A. Thanks to anonymous donor who provided matching funds, and the many generous people who took advantage of it, we have met our funding goals! $20,000 from the Parks Bureau, and $51,000 from over 170 families, and 28 business and foundation donors, including (in decreasing order of size):
WRG Design
Bedrock Excavation & Construction
SiteLines Park & Playground, Inc.
Wells Fargo Bank
The Irwin Foundation
Bridlemile PTA
Phil Wax (The Hasson Company)
Total Landscape Care
Bridlemile Soccer Club
Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation
Metro Paving
Mrs. Moe M. Tonkon Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation
NW Natural
Wells Fargo
Albertson's
Fidelity National Title
Kinko's
Mike Skillman (Meadows Group)
Safeway
Hilltop Mobil Service
Louise Magun (Windermere)
The Adams Foundation
Thomas Inglesby (ReMax Equity Group)
Pat Weiss (ReMax Equity Group)
Ruth Howland (Meadows Group)
Hot Lips Pizza
Papa Murphy
Gourmet Coffee
And a very Special Thank You to our most active committee members: Beth Allen, Jon Cohen, Betsy Kauffman, Tamra Kjos, Stephanie MacFarland, Eileen Moriarty, Brian Pauleen, Stacey Todderud, and Victor von Salza.
And to all those who donated time and effort in: storing the play structure, helping assemble the play structure, spreading bark chips, and with the many other details required to complete the project.
The Story in Pictures
The calm before construction began.
Reshaping the area.
Raising the first platform.
A huge pile of chips.
Linda calls in for better weather.
Everybody chips in.
How many wheelbarrows does it take to fill...
Fine tuning the chips.
Topping out.
The Renovated Playground on a fine Spring Evening.
Playground Equipment Update - Final Report
Linda Bonder's final report on the Hamilton Park Playground project detailing how it was done, and what might have been done better.
BNAHPLB.pdf,100 KB 100 KB/ 4 pages
If you have questions, comments, or if you would like to see the entire project budget, please contact Linda Bonder, at BeOutside@alum.mit.edu, 503-223-8865,
Hamilton Park Playground Committee Chairperson
The Renovated Playground on a serene Spring Evening.