Windsor Park Improvement Project

Most of the respondents indicated that their children are between the ages of 2–12 years old. Of the 209 responses, 153 of them indicated they prefer a more subtle approach to color as opposed to brightly colored playgrounds. The top two freestanding play features that were chosen by the respondents, as being important to include in a playground, were the climbing wall and climbing rocks. The top two play activities that were chosen by the respondents were an open slide and bridge. The top two swing features that respondents felt are most important to include on a new playground were a belt swing (traditional swing) and a baby/tot swing. When asked what they liked best about the existing Windsor Park playground, the most reoccurring answer from the responses was “swings.”

In addition to completing the survey, the mailed postcards also invited residents to attend the Windsor Park public workshop on Tuesday, April 9, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at New Albany Village Hall. The open house was also advertised in the survey, in the New Albany Connects newsletter, on the City’s website, and on various social media platforms. The City staff facilitated a station-based public workshop, open house style, that provided the attendees with an opportunity to view survey results and provide additional feedback.

The attendees were greeted in the lobby with a welcome board including pictures of the existing conditions. The attendees then moved to the first station, which provided them with the opportunity to comment on the survey results. The City staff provided a verbal overview of the survey and asked attendees if they agreed with the top two choices from survey questions 6, 7, and 8. Attendees were then able to vote with stickers on one of the top two items from each question. The top freestanding play feature that was chosen by the attendees, as being most important to include in a playground, was climbing rocks. The top play activity that was chosen by the attendees was a bridge. The top swing feature that attendees felt is most important to include on a new playground is a belt swing (traditional swing).

The second station allowed attendees to view pictures from three playground equipment companies and vote on their top pick. Two of the equipment lines are made up of play structures that are bright and colorful and one of the equipment lines is a more subtle approach to color. After counting the votes, staff found that 84% of the attendees chose the playground equipment with the more subtle approach.

The third and final station allowed participants to place desired equipment on a scaled map of the park. Each piece of equipment included the associated fall zone so that participants were able to gain an understanding and be encouraged to make decisions given space limitations. The City staff took pictures to document what the participants came up with. After reviewing all the ideas, the top 5 equipment pieces that were chosen most often in order by popularity were swings, slide, hide, climb, and balance.

The survey results and open house feedback are still under staff review. Once the review is complete, staff will use the results and feedback to generate conceptual designs and eventually finalize the playground design. Please stay tuned for next steps in the public feedback and park update process!