Bunten Road Park to Get Modern Themed Playground

Children will be playing on new colorful equipment that will allow them to exercise their imaginations along with their bodies at Bunten Road Park this fall.

The Duluth City Council awarded a $300,000 contract to install modern low-maintenance metal equipment on the city park’s playground to Kidz Zone Play Systems at its June 8 meeting. This amount includes removing and disposing of the old equipment.

SPLOST monies designated for park use will fund the new equipment.

The city received six bids for the equipment that were narrowed to two finalist companies by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and city staff, according to Kathy Marelle, director of the Duluth Parks and Recreation Department.

The board was evenly split on the choices, Marelle said, so summer day campers ages 4-15 were asked to provide input. “They favored the themed Kidz Zone equipment because it allowed them to use their imagination while they played on it,” she told the council.

The Kidz Zone playground features a transglider that can be used as a pirate ship or a fort, Marelle said, and the first Berliner Cosmo Base Net Climber in Georgia.

Other equipment includes a pavilion-shaped shade component, seven slides, two swing sets (one for infants and another for older children), a neutron spinner, a tri-spring fling, a cloud nine swing, and a spaceship springer.

The equipment is suitable for children ages 2-5 and 5 to 12, Marelle said.

The custom manufactured equipment is scheduled to be installed in October and ready for play in November.