Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 08/12/2021

Home

Solstice Park Solstice Park is a neighborhood park located in southeastern Ramsey at the end of Erkium Street, 1/5 mile east of CSAH 5 / Nowthen Boulevard and 1/4 west of MN 47 / Saint Francis Boulevard via Sunwood Drive. The park has a grass infield softball field, and misting station adjacent to the play structures. Its playground was built in 1995, following input on the design by the new neighbors. Originally red in color, some of the components have faded to pink, showing their 26 years of service. The playground uses pea gravel for surfacing, with the bolder containment system. The playground is composed of four components —a composite play structure with monkey bars and track -ride attached to the end, a swing set (containing three bays with two swings each), a climbing structure in the shape of a Stegosaurus dinosaur, and a sandbox excavator toy. There are two curved slides, the shorter one turning 90 degrees and the longer one turning 360 degrees. There is a third straight slide. All of the slides are in good condition, however there are scratch marks in several places. There are three main points of entry for the main composite playground structure one transfer surface / staircase, one metal ladder curving upwards then horizontally, and one chain link ladder. Additionally, a corkscrew climber can be used for entry. Transfer platforms serving the monkey bars can also serve as a means of entry. There is a tunnel linking different parts of the structure that is in fair condition. The sandbox excavator like many, due to their popularity, is in poor condition with paint chipped and metal rusted in several places. The swing set has three sections, divided by supports with two legs each, with two swings per section. One of the sections has two tot, bucket swings. All of the swings are in good condition. The monkey bars, comprised of nine triangular metal rings, are in good condition, as is the track -ride, though there is chipped paint in one place. There are two miscellaneous interactive sensory components, a tic -tic -toe board and a steering wheel, both of which are in good condition. Finally, there is a pull-up bar and talk tubes, both of which are in fair condition. The dinosaur -shaped climbing structure has a spine of parallel metal bars with 17 rectangular `ribs' on the underside for climbing linking the two bars. On the top there are 12 pentagonal scales on alternating sides of the spine for climbing. The structure is held up by four legs. All components of this structure are in good condition. Figure 55: Solstice Park Playground 27