Playground Getting Some Artificial Shade

By DONALD WITTKOWSKI One of Sea Isle City’s popular playgrounds will become a cooler place for children and their parents to hang out – literally. The city plans to add a fabric cover measuring 45 feet-by-54 feet and standing 15 feet high at the playground at John F. Kennedy Boulevard and Central Avenue to provide some shade from summer’s blazing sun. “It’s a place where people can get out of the sun on a hot, hot day,” city spokeswoman Katherine Custer said. The city is installing the sprawling so-called “shade sail” in response to requests from parents for more protection from the elements for their children, Custer noted. “More and more people are conscious of the effects of the sun,” she said. “On summer days, a little shade would be much appreciated.” City Council at its meeting Tuesday is expected to award a $95,000 contract for the project to MRC Recreation of Spring Lake, N.J. Custer said the city has not yet determined when the shade cover will be installed. “It’s one more feature that improves the playground,” she said. Last year, the city added a new spongy, rubber surface at the playground to give children a safe and soft cushion if they fall off the playground equipment. A new spongy surface that provides a safe cushion for children was added to the playground on JFK Boulevard last year. Despite being a small town, Sea Isle is known for its array of public recreation sites, including the playgrounds scattered around town, the Dealy Field athletic complex, the Townsends Inlet Waterfront Park and a nearly $1 million fishing pier and kayak launch facility that opened on the bayfront at 60th Street on May 1. The playground at JFK Boulevard and Central Avenue is a veritable children’s dream world of swings, slides and a fun house. With the arrival of the summer vacation season, the playground becomes a big attraction for families. The fun house and gazebo-like tops for some of the playground equipment already provide some cover from the sun, but nothing like what is coming with the shade sail. Custer noted that Sea Isle will consider similar shade covers for other children’s play areas around town, including the Dealy Field recreation complex and the playground at 85th Street. “We are considering this as a prototype to see how it goes,” she said. “We continue to make Sea Isle City better and better.” The playground at 85th Street, located on the beachfront in the Townsends Inlet section, received new playground equipment, an upgraded pavilion, new picnic tables and new park benches in a 2018 project.