Two Bellingham playgrounds are to be replaced with safer, more accessible, enjoyable and age-inclusive models. Construction is set to begin in June 2026. The City of Bellingham is currently seeking public input to help select new equipment for Rock Hill Park playground and Bloedel Donovan Park playground. The surveys for these playgrounds close after Nov. 25.
Rock Hill and Bloedel Donovan’s current playgrounds were built in 1999. While the Americans with Disabilities Act requires playground equipment to be accessible for children with disabilities, methods of achieving that accessibility have evolved since then.
Connor Mullan is a playground designer for PlayCreation, a playground equipment design company located in Burien, Washington. Mullan said when they put a playground together, there’s a set of American Society for Testing Materials standards they must adhere to.
Most of the ASTM standards for playground equipment were first established in 1999, and a few others were established just within the past few years.
Likewise, playground safety practices have changed since 1999. WAC 110-300-0146, a piece of legislation from 2019 that did blank, is one example of increasing emphasis on playground safety.
Besides the issue of safety standards, playgrounds as old as Rock Hill and Bloedel Donovan pose a problem in the community's inability to replace their broken or damaged parts.
Snohomish County Parks and Recreation Director Sharon Walker oversees the management of over 100 individual park properties, including playgrounds. Walker said playground pieces get worn or broken and must be replaced, but finding the right parts after a playground has been around for years can be challenging.
Jonathan Schilk, a landscape architect for the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department, said this is one of the reasons for the Rock Hill and Bloedel Donovan playground replacements.
“Parts are becoming difficult [to find] and more and more expensive,” Schilk said.
For Rock Hill and Bloedel Donovan, replacements are due.
“It’s very common to have to replace a playground – typically around 15 years is the rule of thumb we’ve been using recently,” Walker said.
Safety and accessibility are crucial, but they are not the only priorities of playground design that have shifted since 1999. Mullan said playgrounds today have a lot more thought behind them compared to playgrounds 20 or 30 years ago.
“I think there’s a lot more intention right now, and making sure there’s play for kids of all ages and all abilities and creating play that is attractive for the community,” Mullan said. “Kind of like a centerpiece for the community.”
Susan Marks, a mother who brings her kids to Bellingham playgrounds including Bloedel Donovan, said it doesn’t matter to her if a playground is new or old, as long as it’s a playground. Still, Marks does value that the new playgrounds will include more features and activities to engage kids.
“My primary goal is to have [my kids] outside and moving their bodies, so the more ways they can move is really good,” Marks said. “With kids, they just don’t get outside enough and they don’t move their bodies enough and don’t take enough risks with their bodies.”
The current Bloedel Donovan Park playground is pictured on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Bellingham, Wash. Preliminary designs for the Bloedel Donovan Park playground can be found and voted upon here. // Photo by Hope Rasa
According to Schilk, current plans for Rock Hill and Bloedel Donovan are preliminary.
“It’s not like we’re married to any of them,” Schilk said.
Right now, what they’re trying to get, Schilk said, is a sense of what the public thinks would be fun to have.
Hope Rasa (she/her) is a City News reporter for The Front this quarter. She is a second-year Western student majoring in news/editorial journalism. She enjoys running, hiking, reading and spending time with her cat. You can reach her at hoperasa.thefront@gmail.com.
