For the Shady Lane Park playground renovation, Merrie Talley of Talley Landscape Architects worked with GameTime, a division of PlayCore, in the design of custom play pieces. The work began with sketches and meetings with Houston's Parks Director Joe Turner. New plantings of live oaks surround the playground. To avoid the hazards of guy wires or uprights to support the new trees, Tree Stake Solutions donated root anchors. The trees along the bayou path are cypress and river birch, which thrive in the area's bayou environment.

Shady Lane Park, acquired by the city in 1958, is in northeast Houston. It occupies 12.4 acres of land near the intersection of Jensen Drive and Hwy 59. This is the Eastex-Jensen area, a largely Hispanic (67 percent) and African-American (22 percent) community with high unemployment, and 38 percent of the population under 20. In large part, families with young children use the park, many of whom walk to the park. The park's original features included a small community center, an outdoor basketball court, soccer fields and a modest playground, all of which were heavily used.

On June 4, 2001, however, the wrath of Mother Nature dramatically altered the area landscape. Tropical Storm Allison brought pouring rains to Houston, and, several days later, came back to dumb more rain, 40 inches in all, destroying thousands of homes, and reportedly killing 23 Texans and causing $5.5 billion in damages. Shady Lane Park and the 13,000 homes in the surrounding neighborhood were devastated.

Slides emerge from the glass fiber reinforced concete 'cypress' trees. There are two sizes of trees with slides, this one for the older kids, and another sized for 2-5 year olds.

After Allison, the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) bought 68 acres adjacent to the park that was formerly occupied by the housing to create the Bretshire Stormwater Detention project, a major flood-control and bayou restoration project of the HCFCD, and the Houston Public Works Department. The playground was still there, but was small, isolated and dilapidated.

Enter the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) Parks Build Community program, Houston Parks and Recreation Department, Houston Parks Board, and nearly a dozen partners. NRPA's involvement needs a bit of explication. In 2009, NRPA began its Parks Build Community initiative, an effort to guide communities in building new parks or rehabilitating deteriorated parks. Parks Build Community seeks support and donations from manufacturers, suppliers and vendors. It's first project was Marvin Gaye Park in Washington, D.C., which garnered donations of playground equipment from Playworld Systems, park equipment from Playcore, playground surfacing from Surface America and local donations from landscaping, engineering, and design firms, an estimated $350,000 in donations of materials and services to the project. Leading NRPA's Parks Build Community initiative is Richard Dolesh, who is NRPA's vice president for conservation and parks. He has worked 30 years in parks, outdoor recreation and natural resource management in Maryland. Dolesh says today's best parks are not just a place to go sit on a bench and watch the ducks paddle about and peck at each other. He believes the NRPA program name says it all--parks build [better, stronger] communities, and that the program taps into that power through community involvement and the generous donations of manufacturers, suppliers and vendors.

The Shady Lane Park renovation was inspired by the National Recreation and Park Association's (NRPA) 2013 Conference in Houston. In keeping with the nature theme of the conference, along with NRPA's Parks Build Community Program, the design was developed to represent a bayou, from the headwaters to wetlands.
Rendering: Talley Landscape Architects, Inc.

The landscape architect for the project, Merrie Talley of Talley Landscape Architects (TLA), along with M2L Associates Landscape Architect (permitting and construction documentation), saw an opportunity to integrate the storm basin into the park design. The park's proximity to Halls Bayou naturally inspired the playground's nature and bayou themes, elements to engage and teach children about their environment.

TLA worked with GameTime, a division of PlayCore, in the design of custom play pieces for the park. This planning work began with sketches and meetings with Houston's Parks Director Joe Turner. His passion for the site and the message of representing Houston's bayous led to some historical research that informed both the bayou boat design and the plant palette of cypress and river birch that line the trail and lead to the wetlands. The design proceeded with three dimensional renderings to models that guided fabrication.

The "bayou," indicated by blue poured-in-place surfacing (Surface America), runs through an 8-foot diameter fallen cypress log tunnel, which is also a climber. The log has three-dimensional local wildlife, such as three raccoon faces peeking through knotholes. A 15-foot long climb-on alligator lies in the sun nearby. There's a traditional swing set (right), plus tree house swings (bottom left).

"Shady Lane Park is Joe Tuner's project. He made it happen," says Tom Norquist, a senior vp for PlayCore. PlayCore's GameTime division, which creates and manufactures 'PlayWorx' designs, created custom play sculptures and modular glass fiber reinforced concete (GFRC) components. PlayCore, a longstanding partner and donor to Parks Build Community projects, donated the play equipment.

Greenfields Outdoor Fitness Equipment donated an entire outdoor gym to the Shady Park Playground, a convenient and beneficial activity for parents, who can get in some reps and still keep an eye on the kids on the playground.

Playground pieces include:
An 8-foot diameter fallen cypress log tunnel, through which the bayou runs. It is climbable and has three-dimensional local wildlife: a rabbit on one end and a coyote on the other, along with a family of raccoons peeking out through knotholes, and an opossum hanging by its tail inside.

A 15-foot long climb-on alligator from the bayou with jaws wide open lies in a lagoon of blue poured-in-place safety surfacing.

Slides emerge from a hollow cypress tree and a tree house. Stairs lead kids up to the slides, but they can also choose to climb up to the tree hollow and tree house. The two main trees are sized for age appropriate play; one best suits 2-5 year olds; the other is more appropriate for older children. Tree trunk swings, and a balance beam that looks like an overturned log with turtles sunning, provide a challenging course.

There's a little tree stump climber where a family of raccoons hang out.

There's also outdoor fitness equipment, courtesy of Greenfields Outdoor Fitness. Those using the fitness equipment, unlike indoor gyms, can get fit while enjoying views of nature and open spaces.

A large, bayou-themed play area replaced the former playground's old play equipment. A poured-in-place concrete "waterway" leads from the sprayground to this outdoor classroom in the shape of a flat-bottomed bayou boat, set in the middle of a wetland garden. The boat is used as a classroom for teaching children about the area's bayou environment.

Beginning at the existing community center, a fully accessible trail system with a colored streambed follows a course that begins in the plaza with a splash pad, and ultimately links to the newly constructed Bretshire detention basin. The splash pad represents the headwaters and has in-ground sprays as well as water features from boulders and bubblers, and a partially submerged alligator head. Kraftsman Commercial Playgrounds & Water Parks, Inc., was selected as the general contractor, and also provided the splash pad's water play equipment. The park trail culminates in an overlook of the basin and wildlife, a great educational resource to teach children about the local environment. The reestablishing riparian zone in the basin is attracting a number of bird species to the area.

The park anchors a regional trail that travels through Harris County Precinct 2 and connects with Keith-Weiss Park, approximately three miles to the north. In the future, these two regional facilities will flank the Hall's Bayou segment of the Bayou Greenways project that will extend over 30 miles southeastward as it joins Greens Bayou and flows into Houston's urban core.

The play space transitions to an outdoor classroom (Bayou Boat) surrounded by genuine wetland plantings, which are adjacent to a large shaded area, home to a venerable elm. Boulders line the trail as the grade changes, offering places to sit and rest in the shade. Beyond this point, a more adventurous segment of trail of decomposed granite has a fallen log obstacle course leading up about 13 feet to an overlook berm on the edge of the basin.

The revitalization of Shady Lane Park embraces the best of Parks Build Community by improving this important public space, while honoring the cultural roots and natural environment of the area. Nearly 500 community members, NRPA members, local children and Houston elected officials, including Houston Mayor Annise Parker, joined in the ribbon cutting and reopening of this park on October 10, 2013, a fitting culmination of the NRPA Show and Expo that year in Houston.

A climbing stump is home to a family of raccoons. This is just one of the area creatures depicted on the playground that children learn about. The word for this nimble-handed masked creature derives from the Algonquin "arakun," said to mean "he scratches with hands." Raccoons are considered smarter than cats, and dexterous enough to untie your shoelaces, or take coins from your pockets.

Now when visiting Shady Lane, community members find a completely revitalized and renovated park thanks to the work of NRPA, Houston Parks and Recreation Department, Houston Parks Board, and nearly a dozen partners. Two-hundred thousand of the $1 million project was funded by a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Outdoor grant. Game Time's contribution was valued at $100,000 in play equipment, and numerous other donors provided over half the total cost of the project.

When Tropical Storm Allison moved through the Houston area in June 2001, it flooded this area and destroyed thousands of homes by Shady Lane Park. Harris County Flood Control District bought the 68 acres adjacent to the park that was formerly occupied by the housing to create the Bretshire stormwater detention basin ($4.7 million), and established riparian habitat ($250,000). Beginning at the existing community center (below right), a fully accessible trail system with a colored streambed follows a course that begins in the plaza with the splashpad, and culminates in an overlook of the detention basin (top) and wildlife. The soccer field (left) added lighting ($215,000). Photo: Kraftsman Commercial Playgrounds & Water Parks, Inc.

Design and Construction Partners
Landscape Architects
-Talley Landscape Architects, Inc.: Project design. Donated time and talent and brought partners to the table.
-M2L Associates Inc.: Implemented construction documents
-Engineering: Omega Engineers: grading, drainage and detention
-General Contractor: Kraftsman Commercial Playgrounds & Water Parks, onsite coordination, and offered donations and discounts
-Landscape/Irrigation Installation: Martin Landscape Management, Inc.
-Concrete & Dirt Work: M & M Paving
-Contractor (boat foundation & walk): Horizon Group International
-Bollards, plaques, engravings: Southwest Graphix
-Boulder Installation: JSC Construction, LLC

The park opening ceremony took place Oct. 10, 2013, a fitting end to the NRPA Congress and Expo in Houston last year. NRPA named the park its 2013 Parks Build Community Showcase Project. Houston Mayor Annise Parker was on hand (middle front in red). "Shady Lane Park Playground is Joe Tuner's project. He made it happen," Tom Norquist, senior vp for PlayCore, told LASN. Joe Turner (back middle with the blue shirt) is director of Houston Parks & Rec. Total public expenditures for the park project was $18.36 million.

Project Partners
ApachEco
Greenfields Outdoor Fitness
Harris County Flood Control District
Harris County Precinct 2, Jack Morman, Commissioner
Houston General Services Department
Houston Parks and Recreation Department
Houston Parks Board
Houston Public Works & Engineering
Houston Strategic Purchasing Department
National Recreation and Park Association
Nature's Way
PlayCore/Gametime/Total Recreation Products
Superior Recreational Products,
Superior Shade
Superior Recreational Products, Webcoat Inc.
Sustainable Growth Texas
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
Tree Stake Solutions
Trees for Houston
Water Odyssey

For the Shady Lane Park playground renovation, Merrie Talley of Talley Landscape Architects worked with GameTime, a division of PlayCore, in the design of custom play pieces. The work began with sketches and meetings with Houston's Parks Director Joe Turner. New plantings of live oaks surround the playground. To avoid the hazards of guy wires or uprights to support the new trees, Tree Stake Solutions donated root anchors. The trees along the bayou path are cypress and river birch, which thrive in the area's bayou environment.

Shady Lane Park, acquired by the city in 1958, is in northeast Houston. It occupies 12.4 acres of land near the intersection of Jensen Drive and Hwy 59. This is the Eastex-Jensen area, a largely Hispanic (67 percent) and African-American (22 percent) community with high unemployment, and 38 percent of the population under 20. In large part, families with young children use the park, many of whom walk to the park. The park's original features included a small community center, an outdoor basketball court, soccer fields and a modest playground, all of which were heavily used.

On June 4, 2001, however, the wrath of Mother Nature dramatically altered the area landscape. Tropical Storm Allison brought pouring rains to Houston, and, several days later, came back to dumb more rain, 40 inches in all, destroying thousands of homes, and reportedly killing 23 Texans and causing $5.5 billion in damages. Shady Lane Park and the 13,000 homes in the surrounding neighborhood were devastated.

Slides emerge from the glass fiber reinforced concete 'cypress' trees. There are two sizes of trees with slides, this one for the older kids, and another sized for 2-5 year olds.

After Allison, the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) bought 68 acres adjacent to the park that was formerly occupied by the housing to create the Bretshire Stormwater Detention project, a major flood-control and bayou restoration project of the HCFCD, and the Houston Public Works Department. The playground was still there, but was small, isolated and dilapidated.

Enter the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) Parks Build Community program, Houston Parks and Recreation Department, Houston Parks Board, and nearly a dozen partners. NRPA's involvement needs a bit of explication. In 2009, NRPA began its Parks Build Community initiative, an effort to guide communities in building new parks or rehabilitating deteriorated parks. Parks Build Community seeks support and donations from manufacturers, suppliers and vendors. It's first project was Marvin Gaye Park in Washington, D.C., which garnered donations of playground equipment from Playworld Systems, park equipment from Playcore, playground surfacing from Surface America and local donations from landscaping, engineering, and design firms, an estimated $350,000 in donations of materials and services to the project. Leading NRPA's Parks Build Community initiative is Richard Dolesh, who is NRPA's vice president for conservation and parks. He has worked 30 years in parks, outdoor recreation and natural resource management in Maryland. Dolesh says today's best parks are not just a place to go sit on a bench and watch the ducks paddle about and peck at each other. He believes the NRPA program name says it all--parks build [better, stronger] communities, and that the program taps into that power through community involvement and the generous donations of manufacturers, suppliers and vendors.

The Shady Lane Park renovation was inspired by the National Recreation and Park Association's (NRPA) 2013 Conference in Houston. In keeping with the nature theme of the conference, along with NRPA's Parks Build Community Program, the design was developed to represent a bayou, from the headwaters to wetlands.
Rendering: Talley Landscape Architects, Inc.

The landscape architect for the project, Merrie Talley of Talley Landscape Architects (TLA), along with M2L Associates Landscape Architect (permitting and construction documentation), saw an opportunity to integrate the storm basin into the park design. The park's proximity to Halls Bayou naturally inspired the playground's nature and bayou themes, elements to engage and teach children about their environment.

TLA worked with GameTime, a division of PlayCore, in the design of custom play pieces for the park. This planning work began with sketches and meetings with Houston's Parks Director Joe Turner. His passion for the site and the message of representing Houston's bayous led to some historical research that informed both the bayou boat design and the plant palette of cypress and river birch that line the trail and lead to the wetlands. The design proceeded with three dimensional renderings to models that guided fabrication.

The "bayou," indicated by blue poured-in-place surfacing (Surface America), runs through an 8-foot diameter fallen cypress log tunnel, which is also a climber. The log has three-dimensional local wildlife, such as three raccoon faces peeking through knotholes. A 15-foot long climb-on alligator lies in the sun nearby. There's a traditional swing set (right), plus tree house swings (bottom left).

"Shady Lane Park is Joe Tuner's project. He made it happen," says Tom Norquist, a senior vp for PlayCore. PlayCore's GameTime division, which creates and manufactures 'PlayWorx' designs, created custom play sculptures and modular glass fiber reinforced concete (GFRC) components. PlayCore, a longstanding partner and donor to Parks Build Community projects, donated the play equipment.

Greenfields Outdoor Fitness Equipment donated an entire outdoor gym to the Shady Park Playground, a convenient and beneficial activity for parents, who can get in some reps and still keep an eye on the kids on the playground.

Playground pieces include:
An 8-foot diameter fallen cypress log tunnel, through which the bayou runs. It is climbable and has three-dimensional local wildlife: a rabbit on one end and a coyote on the other, along with a family of raccoons peeking out through knotholes, and an opossum hanging by its tail inside.

A 15-foot long climb-on alligator from the bayou with jaws wide open lies in a lagoon of blue poured-in-place safety surfacing.

Slides emerge from a hollow cypress tree and a tree house. Stairs lead kids up to the slides, but they can also choose to climb up to the tree hollow and tree house. The two main trees are sized for age appropriate play; one best suits 2-5 year olds; the other is more appropriate for older children. Tree trunk swings, and a balance beam that looks like an overturned log with turtles sunning, provide a challenging course.

There's a little tree stump climber where a family of raccoons hang out.

There's also outdoor fitness equipment, courtesy of Greenfields Outdoor Fitness. Those using the fitness equipment, unlike indoor gyms, can get fit while enjoying views of nature and open spaces.

A large, bayou-themed play area replaced the former playground's old play equipment. A poured-in-place concrete "waterway" leads from the sprayground to this outdoor classroom in the shape of a flat-bottomed bayou boat, set in the middle of a wetland garden. The boat is used as a classroom for teaching children about the area's bayou environment.

Beginning at the existing community center, a fully accessible trail system with a colored streambed follows a course that begins in the plaza with a splash pad, and ultimately links to the newly constructed Bretshire detention basin. The splash pad represents the headwaters and has in-ground sprays as well as water features from boulders and bubblers, and a partially submerged alligator head. Kraftsman Commercial Playgrounds & Water Parks, Inc., was selected as the general contractor, and also provided the splash pad's water play equipment. The park trail culminates in an overlook of the basin and wildlife, a great educational resource to teach children about the local environment. The reestablishing riparian zone in the basin is attracting a number of bird species to the area.

The park anchors a regional trail that travels through Harris County Precinct 2 and connects with Keith-Weiss Park, approximately three miles to the north. In the future, these two regional facilities will flank the Hall's Bayou segment of the Bayou Greenways project that will extend over 30 miles southeastward as it joins Greens Bayou and flows into Houston's urban core.

The play space transitions to an outdoor classroom (Bayou Boat) surrounded by genuine wetland plantings, which are adjacent to a large shaded area, home to a venerable elm. Boulders line the trail as the grade changes, offering places to sit and rest in the shade. Beyond this point, a more adventurous segment of trail of decomposed granite has a fallen log obstacle course leading up about 13 feet to an overlook berm on the edge of the basin.

The revitalization of Shady Lane Park embraces the best of Parks Build Community by improving this important public space, while honoring the cultural roots and natural environment of the area. Nearly 500 community members, NRPA members, local children and Houston elected officials, including Houston Mayor Annise Parker, joined in the ribbon cutting and reopening of this park on October 10, 2013, a fitting culmination of the NRPA Show and Expo that year in Houston.

A climbing stump is home to a family of raccoons. This is just one of the area creatures depicted on the playground that children learn about. The word for this nimble-handed masked creature derives from the Algonquin "arakun," said to mean "he scratches with hands." Raccoons are considered smarter than cats, and dexterous enough to untie your shoelaces, or take coins from your pockets.

Now when visiting Shady Lane, community members find a completely revitalized and renovated park thanks to the work of NRPA, Houston Parks and Recreation Department, Houston Parks Board, and nearly a dozen partners. Two-hundred thousand of the $1 million project was funded by a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Outdoor grant. Game Time's contribution was valued at $100,000 in play equipment, and numerous other donors provided over half the total cost of the project.

When Tropical Storm Allison moved through the Houston area in June 2001, it flooded this area and destroyed thousands of homes by Shady Lane Park. Harris County Flood Control District bought the 68 acres adjacent to the park that was formerly occupied by the housing to create the Bretshire stormwater detention basin ($4.7 million), and established riparian habitat ($250,000). Beginning at the existing community center (below right), a fully accessible trail system with a colored streambed follows a course that begins in the plaza with the splashpad, and culminates in an overlook of the detention basin (top) and wildlife. The soccer field (left) added lighting ($215,000). Photo: Kraftsman Commercial Playgrounds & Water Parks, Inc.

Design and Construction Partners
Landscape Architects
-Talley Landscape Architects, Inc.: Project design. Donated time and talent and brought partners to the table.
-M2L Associates Inc.: Implemented construction documents
-Engineering: Omega Engineers: grading, drainage and detention
-General Contractor: Kraftsman Commercial Playgrounds & Water Parks, onsite coordination, and offered donations and discounts
-Landscape/Irrigation Installation: Martin Landscape Management, Inc.
-Concrete & Dirt Work: M & M Paving
-Contractor (boat foundation & walk): Horizon Group International
-Bollards, plaques, engravings: Southwest Graphix
-Boulder Installation: JSC Construction, LLC

The park opening ceremony took place Oct. 10, 2013, a fitting end to the NRPA Congress and Expo in Houston last year. NRPA named the park its 2013 Parks Build Community Showcase Project. Houston Mayor Annise Parker was on hand (middle front in red). "Shady Lane Park Playground is Joe Tuner's project. He made it happen," Tom Norquist, senior vp for PlayCore, told LASN. Joe Turner (back middle with the blue shirt) is director of Houston Parks & Rec. Total public expenditures for the park project was $18.36 million.

Project Partners
ApachEco
Greenfields Outdoor Fitness
Harris County Flood Control District
Harris County Precinct 2, Jack Morman, Commissioner
Houston General Services Department
Houston Parks and Recreation Department
Houston Parks Board
Houston Public Works & Engineering
Houston Strategic Purchasing Department
National Recreation and Park Association
Nature's Way
PlayCore/Gametime/Total Recreation Products
Superior Recreational Products,
Superior Shade
Superior Recreational Products, Webcoat Inc.
Sustainable Growth Texas
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
Tree Stake Solutions
Trees for Houston
Water Odyssey