Historical November 1994 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Several weeks ago the ad hoc Playground Feasibility Study Committee began circulating petitions to garner support for a playground at the corner of Kingsbury and DesPeres.
The following questions have been asked of the committee members as they’ve discussed the playground plans with their neighbors: Why do you want to build a playground in our neighborhood?
The goal we are all working toward in the Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood is stability. Stable neighborhoods have less crime and higher property values.
A stable neighborhood is created by families.
This is not a knock on apartment-dwellers or students in the Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood, but it is a fact that a neighborhood is stabilized by residents who buy homes here and raise their families here. Children in the Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood must travel over a mile, crossing busy streets, to get to the closest safe playground.
A playground within the Skinker DeBaliviere confines will help attract families to the area. Why was the location at the corner of Kingsbury and DesPeres chosen?
The committee used the following criteria to pick a site: • Corner lot • Highly visible area (for safety) • Least number of residences directly adjacent • Centrally located in neighborhood • City-owned property What will the playground include? What will it look like?
The playground equipment will be purchased from a reputable recreational equipment manufacturer and sized for toddlers through 10 year olds.
It will have rust-proof steel posts with a powder-coated color finish and vinyl-coated expanded metal decks, heavy-duty plastic slides, and tunnel; steel climbing equipment, bridge, and horizontal ladder; and a separate swing. set with two toddler swings and two child swings. Surrounding the playground will be a 6- foot-high masonry and wrought iron fence with one gate on the DesPeres side.
The gate will be lockable.
As many existing trees as possible will remain. What’s on the lot now?
The lot (roughly 35 feet by 150 feet) is approximately one-half concrete paving and one half grass with a few trees.
A railroad tie retaining wall divides the two areas. Are there problems with the lot now, i.e. loitering, excessive noise, littering, etc.?
There have not been any calls to the police department regarding the intersection of Kingsbury and DesPeres in the last year and a half, according to Seventh District Police officers. Calls to the 6000 block of Kingsbury were for larceny or domestic disturbances not loitering or excessive noise. Even though it would seem to be a natural spot the existing retaining wall is not often used for loitering; therefore it will most likely occur even less on a wrought iron fence in that location. Who is paying for the playground?
The funds to buy the equipment, prepare the lot, and build the surrounding wall will come from the Gateway Foundation, an organization that favors funding children’s recreational projects.
Some volunteer labor may be required from neighbors to erect the equipment. What about the “Tot Lot” that was built over 15 years ago and didn’t work? Won’t the same thing happen again?
There are two main reasons the problems with the Tot Lot will not be repeated: • The equipment at the Tot Lot was designed and built by students at Washington University, not by a playground equipment company.
Some of the equipment was not sized for toddlers.
The area was not fenced or gated. Teenagers tended to take over the playground.
The playground equipment we are planning to install is made for small children.
It will not be comfortable for teenagers.
The area will be fenced and gated (lockable) so we can close it at specified hours. • The Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood has stabilized appreciably in the last 15-20 years.
The improved cohesiveness of the neighborhood, the basketball courts, and the Youth Cycles program have greatly decreased the problems associated with inactive teenagers. What about Lucier Park? Why don’t we use that area? Lucier Park has several insurmountable problems: • It does not meet the requirement for a centrally located playground. Many parents have stated that it is too far to walk there with their children. • It has loitering problems now, which means that we have to devise a plan to improve the area, but a playground is not the answer. • It is vulnerable because of its proximity to Delmar and the cut-through pedestrian traffic. Safety would be a big issue. Who will own the playground?
The city of St. Louis will own the playground.
They will maintain it and accept liability for it. Who will lock the gate?
We are recommending that a group of volunteers be established.
Each volunteer will be responsible for closing the gate each evening and opening it each morning for one week of the year.
We have several volunteers already.
This should not be a insurmountable obstacle, considering the size of the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood, the number of people committed to improving the area, and the large number of people supporting this playground. Are there any examples of playground like this in the City that have been successful?
The Forest Park Southeast neighborhood has a small park/playground called Rainbow Park at the corner of Taylor and Gibson.
The police officers in the area have said that the playground has not increased loitering. if this Is such a good Idea, why are you circulating this petition? Three reasons: • The Gateway Foundation that will be giving us the grant to fund the playground wants to be certain that there is neighborhood support for it. • Some people in the neighborhood haven’t heard about the playground, or have only heard rumors about it.
We are trying to contact as many people as possible to let them know the facts about the situation.
A public meeting that was held in August was not well attended, so we felt that a door-to-door effort would enable us to get more input on the project. • There is a very small, but vocal, minority opposed to the playground. Although we are certain that a majority of the neighborhood supports it, signatures will help us get an accurate count.
A second public meeting will be held on November 29th at 7 p.m. at Grace Methodist Church in the Fellowship Hall.
We urge everyone to attend.
Original photograph caption
Proposed Kingsbury and Des Peres playground site plan. Artist not credited.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, November 1994.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1994_11.pdf, printed page(s) 1, 7; PDF page(s) 1, 7.
