After multiple delays, the playground will receive long over-due upgrades this summer
By Sadhbh Pearse
New renovation works on the playground at People’s Park are to commence in June, according to Limerick City councillor Elisa O’Donovan.
There have been multiple delays in beginning these works, with council members and the public previously promised start dates in both 2021 and 2022.
Cllr O’Donovan made the announcement earlier this week on Twitter, after raising the matter at a Limerick City and County Council meeting on Monday, March 20.
The Social Democrats councillor requested more information on what is being done in relation to this project and others, such as a prior commitment to making the Steamboat Quay area more accessible.
In response to Cllr O’Donovan’s motion, Council stated that a contractor has been appointed to deliver upgrades to the People’s Park playground.
“The contractor’s programme has identified a potential start date on site in June, which takes into consideration the lead-in time for the delivery of equipment,” the reply stated.
According to Cllr O’Donovan, the Playground project is “badly needed, as there are thousands of people living in the city who don’t have access to gardens or space so it’s a really important project for the city.”
“Each district of metropolitan [Limerick] gave €50,000 towards upgrading Peoples Park playground,” the councillor confirmed, meaning €150,000 has been allocated to the renovations. She said this will allow for “a proper, decent upgrade of the playground”.
Throughout the project, Cllr O’Donovan plans to liaise with council members to keep up to speed with the developments.
“A lot of the equipment itself will need to be upgraded and the main goal is to make sure there is wheelchair-accessible equipment.”
During Monday’s council meeting, she reiterated that she brought attention to this much-needed renovation nearly two years ago hoping the works would be done in 2022, stating “there have been a significant number of delays for a variety of reasons”.
There have been some concerns online, however, that the renovations start in June when children are on school holidays. However, Cllr O’Donovan states that the equipment really needs updating and that “the park is used all year round, so it won’t make a huge amount of difference” as to whether it’s done in June or September.
Cllr O’Donovan confirmed that the works won’t take very long once they get underway: “Once the equipment is sourced, it will be just about installation”.
Cllr O’Donovan is a Speech and Language therapist and would like to see the addition of a communication board in the playground.
She is very eager to get this project and the Mount Kennett Skate Park upgrade project off the ground, to provide more accessible and family-friendly resources for the city-based community.
