Lake Accotink Park to get a new playground
Lake Accotink Park is getting a new playground to replace the old, obsolete one that had been there since 1995.
The old play equipment was removed earlier this month after a licensed playground inspector deemed it unsafe. Crews laid seed and straw to provide erosion control and a temporary green space until the new equipment can be installed.
The Board of Supervisors approved $300,000 for the new playground at its May 9 meeting.
The new all-ages playground will feature a tower with a winding slide and net climber, a playhouse, a dragonfly seesaw, four swings, musical panels, and tactile/visual features.
It is expected to be completed in late summer or early fall.
Great! I hope you will build a shade canopy. Anyone that has played at that playground with their kids, knows how strong the sun beats down on you. There just is not natural shade. I hope the designers will spend time there throughout the day!
I am disappointed in the recent new parks, along with caregiver above, at the lack of shade canopies. The Glasgow park renovation has no canopies over the equipment meaning there’s an increased burn risk and no protection from harmful cancer causing UV rays
You will also need mosquito netting as the county will allow it to turn into a swamp.
SO true! I’m old enough to remember when the playground was up under the trees. Glorious, cooking shade for everyone. Shade sails would help immensely!
Why can’t we get something like the new all access playground at Clemyjontri Park out in McLean?
The mission of Clemyjontri Park and its adjacent 18 acres of land were a gift from Ms. Adele Liebowitz and the Liebowitz family.
Julie and Dan Clemente led Friends of Clemyjontri Park, raising significant financial support and awareness for it.
In 2018, a new picnic celebration pavilion was made possible thanks to generous contributions from McLean Community Foundation, Rotary Club of McLean, the Friends of Clemyjontri Park, Amy and Jeff Sonderman, and the friends and family of Sue Rowell, a longtime contributor to the park. The Friends of Clemyjontri Park also funded the new trackless train and train station. Partnership recognition was also extended to partner, McLean Project for the Arts, and Wheat’s for pro-bono landscaping services.
Signature Sponsors Capital One Bank, HITT Contracting, Friends of Clemyjontri Park and other donors, the Park Foundation has enhanced Clemyjontri Park with a Liberty Swing, engineered to be fully accessible to adults and children in wheelchairs.
Fairfax County’s amazing parks receive less than 1% of the county’s operating budget. User fees provide 60% of the necessary funding, but some activities and facilities cannot be fee-based. There are dozens of projects underway at any point in time; you can become a part of the action right now at:
https://fairfaxparkfoundation.org/
3 thoughts:
1) It never ceases to amaze me how this area builds these big parking lots and gleaming white sidewalks with no tree canopy whatsoever. Especially in the Summer, these hot areas are unbearable.
2) Aren’t they turning Accotink into a swamp? If so, this makes no sense.
3) “All ages” playground? So now I have to worry about groomers stalking my children at the taxpayer funded swamp playground?
That’s a frankely pathetic playground, I’ve seen bigger ones in backyards with Home Depot DIY kits. For $300,000 the counsel can probably make a better one out of super glue and $1 bills. Some shade, a few 10 more swings, a jungle gym, and a larger area for bigger kids to roam is probably in order here. Since we’re not gonna have a body of water anymore I fully hope this is just a Phase 1 of the upgrades, with more to come as the space turns into “The Park Formerly Known as Lake Accotink.”
It would be great to have a splash park!
It’s going to be nice but could it not have been ready at the start of the season? Poor planing.
“The start of the season?”
For starters, there is no such thing as a “season” for playgrounds, including, I believe, this one; Accotink is open 12 months of the year.
The assessment, development, and renovation of Fairfax County’s many parks and recreation facilities is also a year-round undertaking, one which operates on available funds, staff, inspectors, contractors, and others. Nothing happens overnight, and every step of the process is subject to delays and complications. Getting it done right and making it safe (the reason the playground equipment is being replaced in the first place) takes priority over “Wouldn’t it be nice?”
Do you have any idea how big FCPA is and how much they have on their plate? I’m not saying they are prompt at delivering (keep in mind they are a government agency, not a private for-profit), but honestly, they do A LOT for Fairfax County residents and visitors, year-round.
There are many parks, rec centers, trails, and historic sites in the area with a plethora of activities available; please take a look at the options and take advantage of them.
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/