QuickTake:

Tyson Park is closed for construction, which includes installing a new playground, community garden and jogging path. Meadow, Lively and Willamalane parks will also see improvements. 

Updates are coming to four parks in Springfield, including new surfacing, climbing structures and a redevelopment of Tyson Park, according to a news release from Willamalane Park and Recreation District. 

Construction began in June at Tyson Park, 3405 E St., which is closed as Willamalane installs a new playground, basketball court, community garden, picnic shelter and wood-chip path. Construction should be completed later this fall, the release said. 

The approximately $1.5 million in funding for work at Tyson Park comes from $700,000 in grants; $200,000 from the Willamalane Park Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy organization that supports Willamalane; and $600,000 in capital improvement program funds. Those funds come from fees the city collects when permitting new construction, and building and construction budgets, according to district spokesperson Whitney Hoshaw.

Tyson Park playground mock up designs. Credit: Willamalane Park and Recreation District

Willamalane is also resurfacing the playground at Meadow Park, 851 Mill St., which will close Sept. 28 for three to four weeks, the release said. Both Meadow and Tyson parks will receive accessible surfacing, which Hoshaw said will be poured-in-place rubber. 

The district’s board of directors approved a $162,000 contract to resurface the Meadow Park playground, which is funded by the Willamalane Park Foundation.

“This year, the foundation increased its support for important projects in Springfield,” Willamalane Park Foundation Board President Ronelle Kuhnhenn said in the news release. 

Willamalane Executive Director Michael Wargo previously told Lookout the district is increasing its focus on sponsorships, grants and donations as part of a multipronged approach to address rising expenses that are outpacing the district’s revenue growth.

Improvements are also planned for Lively Park, 6100 Thurston Road, and Willamalane Park, 1276 G St., where the district recently removed climbing structures because of safety concerns. It will replace them later this year, according to the news release. That work is also being funded by the foundation, Hoshaw said.