CAPAHA'S TOT LOT DISMANTLED TO MAKE ROOM FOR NEW TOYS

The Tot Lot at Capaha Park is gone, but not for long. The old playground equipment has been removed to make way for a new, expanded Tot Lot at the same place.

The new equipment will be handicap accessible, said Tom Meyer with the Evening Optimist Club. The Evening Optimist Club has donated $12,000 toward the new playground.

"It's going to be colorful, durable and something the parents and children can enjoy," Meyer said.

Accessible playground equipment will be added to Tot Lots in other city parks also, Meyer said. "This is a pilot project for the entire state," Meyer said. Tot Lots have been projects for the Evening Optimists since the 1950s.

Dan Muser, director of city parks and recreation, said the old equipment at Capaha Park has been removed so the ground can be prepared before arrival of the new pieces.

Most park play areas have some type of protective ground cover. The Tot Lot did not. It will be covered with wood fiber, Muser said.

"The main part is a play structure similar to some of the ones at Arena and Capaha parks, but it is a smaller version for a younger age group," Muser said. The unit has slides and panels with tic-tac-toe and clock designs.

The playground will also have a new set of swings, some rider animals and a new four-way rider toy that Muser described as a safe version of a seesaw. A popular digging area will return and new child-sized picnic tables are being added.

"We will be using a vinyl or plastic fence around the playground," Muser said.

The equipment is scheduled to arrive in a few weeks. Muser said the project will be finished in time for use this summer.

The old Tot Lot equipment will be evaluated to determine if it can be reused. If not, it will be scrapped.

"We get calls all the time from other cities wanting to buy our old playground equipment, but if it's not safe for us to use it's not safe for them," Muser said.