The Ketchikan Gateway Borough has a new playground. Borough officials welcomed the new facility at Alder Park, on Bryant Street, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday.
The small playground is designed for toddlers aged 2-5 and comes with three pieces of equipment, including a slide and climbing dome. It’s the first playground the borough has constructed since the borough assembly approved a parks and playground master plan in 2023. The last playground constructed by the borough was in 2018.
Morgan Barry is the borough’s public works director. He says a playground at Alder Park is expected to do well.
“It was determined that, exclusive of school district properties, there were no playgrounds in the vicinity of Alder Park,” Barry said. “So, if you had children that were not old enough to go to school, then there wasn’t a playground available.”
It’s the first playground of about half a dozen managed by the borough to use rubber tiles. Barry said it’s easier to clean than other ground materials and also provides better fall protection.
Also constructed at the new playground was a retaining wall and staircase leading to the park. The project was funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s federal Land and Water Conservation Fund and through the borough’s half-cent sales tax for capital improvement projects.
The Alder Park playground is one of several parks and rec projects in the works. The borough is also in the design phase for playground upgrades at the Lund Street Park and on Rotary Beach.
The new playground at Alder Park officially opened in May.
Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.
