The playground and artificial turf at Lehigh Park on the afternoon of Feb. 26.
The playground at Lehigh Park, at 17th Avenue and Center Street in southeast Albany, has been wonderfully transformed since the last time I saw it in October 2024.
The playground was still under construction then. The city’s parks crew was the middle of bolting together the play equipment, and the artificial turf had yet to be laid down.
The playground cost the city around $237,000. Some time last year it was opened, and I missed that occasion. Last week a bike ride took me back to the Lehigh Neighborhood, and I stopped at the park for a look at Albany’s first playground variously described as inclusive, adaptive and “sensory-fiendly.”
The equipment is designed to be fun for children of all abilities. And the surface is made up of artificial grass that cushions falls and is both antistatic and antimicrobial.
When the project was still being planned in 2023, I described it this way:
Besides the different surface, the project … calls for two traditional swings plus one that accommodates a caregiver and a child; a “group spinner” that can be used by children using walkers or wheelchairs; sensory panels with sound, music, tactile activities and color; and a communication panel for children who have trouble with speech.
All those elements appeared to be in place when I stopped at the park last week.
A child does not have to have “special needs” to enjoy this playground. Just before I left, a family with two children arrived, and the kids seemed to have a good time running from one piece of equipment to the next.
A low fence surrounds the Lehigh Park playground, evidently to corral any super-enterprising or hyperactive child.
Looks like a pretty cool facility, Hasso. Thanks for the update!
Looks great, I hope people take advantage of it’s unique features.
Just wondering, have you run out of “HH”s?
“And the surface is made up of artificial grass that cushions falls and is both antistatic and antimicrobial.”
With birds flying overhead?