Time to play: New playground at Moody Park in Fairview Heights open

The new playground at Moody Park opened to the public on Friday morning.

The original wooden playground was built in 1995 near the pond at the Fairview Heights park, but the park district decided to dismantle it in November 2013 because the timber had splintered and had caused injuries.

In its place, new concrete- and fiberglass-based equipment has been installed that should be more durable and require less maintenance.

The installation took about a year longer than the park district and city had anticipated. Fairview Heights Parks and Recreation District Director Angela Beaston said a handrail was finally installed earlier this week along the ramps and stairs at the playground.

“The handrail is a custom piece that could not be done until the concrete sidewalk and retaining walls were installed,” Beaston said. “Unfortunately that’s what took a while that’s what we were waiting for. It was a custom-made piece.”

The new equipment is nature themed. An 8-foot-tall concrete tree with a tree house is the focal point with slides and swings literally branching off the concrete tree. There is also a 5-by-5-foot concrete “anthill” for climbing and a 3-by-6-foot concrete “log” that children can crawl through. Green artificial turf covers the ground beneath the equipment.

This story was originally published July 24, 2015 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Time to play: New playground at Moody Park in Fairview Heights open."