Donations helping fortify castle for children, adding zipline, sculptures
CRANBERRY TWP — The Kids Castle in the township’s Community Park is on track to get a “royal refresh” in the spring.
The Cranberry Township Community Chest’s “FUNraiser” continues to gather donations for the Cranberry Uniting Playground with plans for renovations that keep safety standards up to date and bring colorful new additions. These include a zip line for children and aluminum-cast sculptures.
The ongoing project, called the Refresh Project, will expand the play area, incorporate a new playground apparatus, add more swings and upgrade all fall surfaces at the site, according to Dan Santoro, township manager.
“Fall surfacing” ensures that appropriate materials, equipment height and other features combine to prevent injuries to children caused by falls onto unsafe surfaces, according to the National Program for Playground Safety.
“Kids Castle gets a whole lot of use, and surfaces have seen a lot of wear over the years,” Santoro said. “It’s been there almost 10 years, so we’re going to upgrade that. ... It’s got climbing and very physical opportunities to climb and play and imagine.”
The sculptures will represent a fun-family theme, he said.
“We’re a family community, and so that has been added as a part of the entrance features as you enter the park,” he said.
Township leaders have not yet set a date to complete the renovations, whose rate of progress should pick up as the weather improves in the spring, Santoro said. He estimates planners involved with the project will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony in mid-to-late April.
“It’s actually, I would say, maybe 60% done,” he said. “This was the 2022 CTCC Project of the year. .... And we have been raising funds now for some time.
“The contractor didn’t get started until late this year ... but some of the elements are there.”
Contributors can donate to the project on a scale that awards different commemorative tributes for their gifts. A donor who gifts $15,000 or more to the project gets the sculpture of a family of four commemorated in their honor.
In 2012, hundreds of people contributed to help build the original form of the Kids Castle playground, Santoro said. That structure replaced a wooden play structure known as Playtime Palace, which the township had constructed in the early 1980s.
“This site has always been the location of a significant playground facility for the community,” Santoro said.
“It’s a great creative play space,” he added. “It’s a great family place. It’s very active and well-used and well-loved. People come from all over to use the Kids Castle facility.”
