Payne Park playground approved

A piece of the Big Top is coming to Payne Park permanently this summer.

At Monday’s regular meeting, the Sarasota City Commission approved a $586,341 circus-themed playground, complete with circus colors, big tops, flags, slides, swings and tubes.

The park, which accommodates toddlers and children up to 12 years old, features tiger-themed water-misting rings, musical rings, a clown car with a kid-powered driving panel, xylophones and hand drums.
The park option commissioners chose accommodates up to 380 kids at one time and is being paid for with penny sales-tax dollars.

“Payne Park is ready for this now,” said Mayor Suzanne Atwell, who made it one of her goals to increase the usage of the park last summer. “It’s a very exciting time for the park.”

Plans for the playground also include security cameras, shading and enhanced landscaping.

The design phase of the playground should be complete by January, and the park could be ready to open by June 1, according to city officials.

The park has struggled to find ways to attract people since it opened in 2007.

The playground area is part of phase II of Payne Park construction. The playground will be more than two-thirds of an acre in size and will hug the inside of the walking track at the main entrance, between the pond and building next to the skate park.

That location was the choice of nearby residents, because it was near the existing bathrooms adjacent to the skate park.

The original concept was expected to come in at approximately $1.1 million last summer, and city officials are pleased with the lower cost of the playground.