On December 5th, Mayor Joseph J. Solomon announced that bids will be solicited this winter in preparation for extensive upgrades to the forty-year-old playground at Salter Grove. Work is slated to begin in April next year.

The project will be partially funded through a $100,000 RIDEM Recreation grant. City workers will provide the required grant match with in-kind labor, to include all site clearing, grading, and finish site work.

“The improvements at Salter Grove will ensure that our children have a safe, fun place to play,” Solomon said. “A community is only as strong as its neighborhoods, and a modern, attractive new playground will be a terrific enhancement in that area.”

The project will include removal of the existing, dilapidated playground structure,
and the installation of four new swings as well as a large net climber, slide, pod
steppers and other components nearby.

Significant safety and accessibility improvements will also be made. These include a path to accommodate wheelchair access to the play area, as well as a dedicated handicapped parking space along the entry road. Safety surfacing will be installed under all elevated play components.

Luke Murray, the Special Projects Coordinator in the City’s Planning Department, is responsible for the playground’s final design. FoSG has provided input throughout the grant writing and design process.

It has been FoSG’s goal that the new playground inspires pride in a precious neighborhood park while providing a communal gathering space and complementing the park’s natural esthetics.

Thanks to the generous support of local residents and businesses, plus a Community grant from the Rhode Island Foundation and a legislative grant through Sen. McCaffrey, FOSG has so far raised $28,000 for playground amenities.

A pair of swing sets has already been purchased and donated to the City, and proposals for the design and production of attractive benches have been requested from local fabricators.