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Landscape Architecture and Planning by Talley Landscape Architects, Inc., with M2L Associates  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.
 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.
 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 "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).
 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.
 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.
 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.
 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.
 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.  |
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Landscape Architecture and Planning by Talley Landscape Architects, Inc., with M2L Associates 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.
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.
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 "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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. HTML Comment Box is loading comments...
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