On Monday, July 8, kids from all over Missoula are invited to Rose Memorial Park along with their parents to help design a bigger, better playground at the park.

Nathan McLeod, Park and Trail Design and development Coordinator with Missoula Parks and Recreation said most people don’t know there is already a small playground at the park.

“It’s not heavily used because there’s not a lot of equipment there,” said McLeod. “The reason why we’re replacing that playground is because we can create something that has a lot more play value to get more attention and bring more kids in.”

Many believe that Rose Park has been set aside exclusively for memorials for the Korean War, Vietnam and the Law Enforcement Memorial, and that a playground might not be appropriate, however McLeod disagrees.

“Out thought is that a lot of times people will go to visit a memorial and they’ll have children in tow, and since the children aren’t super interested in visiting the memorial so it is an opportunity for the kids to go and play, as well,” he said. “That’s why on Monday, July 8th we’ll have a design day for both kids and parents. For about an hour, kids will have an opportunity to draw their ideal playground, and it will be led by a project manager from KaBoom, the grant funder for the playground.”

McLeod said the kids and parents input are vital in creating playground that all will enjoy.

 

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