After being closed for several months, the renovated Kids Corner playground in Red Bank is now open, just in time for kids to get a few more days of play in before school starts.
Originally built with all volunteer labor and donated materials about 25 years ago, the wooden playground had deteriorated over time due to weather and normal wear and tear, said City Manager Randall Smith. City officials photographed the original structure before it was demolished, and re-created the design as closely as possible when rebuilding it, using new wood and constructing it according to current safety and Americans with Disabilities Act standards, he said.
Red Bank city officials and citizens celebrate the reopening of Kids Corner playground.The playground, designed for kids age 10 and younger, cost around $100,000 to renovate.
“The board [of city commissioners] wanted to make certain that children in Red Bank had a safe and clean environment to go play and explore and stretch their imaginations,” said Smith.
While the original playground structure is gone, the fence around it – which features the hand prints of children of the volunteers who built the playground decades ago – was retained to show the city’s appreciation for their efforts, he said.