A neighborhood in Springfield, Oregon has enjoyed a much-improved park since the construction of a new playground in October 2019. Willamalane Park and Recreation District's three-acre Bluebelle Park consisted of a playground with a lonely swing set surrounded by cracked concrete pathways. The district had long identified the necessity for major upgrades on the park, and with the provision of a generous $239,000 grant through the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department's Local Government Grant Program, which was matched by park district funding, the project had the green light.

Initial park design concepts were developed in-house and presented to local residents at an open house meeting to get feedback. District staff also invited representatives of play equipment manufacturers to submit designs for the playground with specific parameters. These opportunities provided multiple levels of challenge, cooperative play, and social interaction, as well as stimulating sensory experiences. The district wanted the interactive experience to be as inclusive as possible with regard to physical, cognitive, and communicative disabilities. Willamalane prefers that new play equipment at all parks be selected and designed to allow kids of all abilities to co-mingle as much as possible. For this project, the district went with the idea to include play pieces by Landscape Structures Inc. for both 2-5 and 5-12 age groups.

 
Willamalane decided to use an artificial turf surface, a first time in one of their playgrounds. This was after visiting parks in Portland, Oregon that had installed similar surfacing, which persisted, in some cases, more than a decade. Portland's Parks and Recreation Department had also recently completed a study showing artificial turf and rubber tiles as the two safety surfaces that were most cost effective over a 15-year life cycle. Additionally, the ease of installation, limited maintenance, and permeable nature of this system was attractive to the Willamalane planning and design staff.

The park is interesting in that it is hidden from view, being completely surrounded by neighboring homes, with six separate narrow entrances from adjacent streets and cul-de-sacs. The main entrance is only twenty feet wide, which provided some challenges for construction access and phasing. All of the mature trees on site were retained as the design made use of the shade they provided by incorporating pathways located outside of root zones as much as possible. A concrete loop walkway in the southern portion of the park was constructed first. The pathways were designed to provide a good flow through the park, giving opportunities for walking dogs and for kids to learn to ride a bike, while allowing people to avoid the play area if desired. Construction of the playground followed, which included a basketball court, space for picnic tables, benches, bike racks and trash cans. Site furnishings were ordered with custom coloring to match with the play equipment, emphasizing the "blue" of the park's name.

Willamalane decided to complete the landscape and irrigation installation using their own staff. However, to encourage some community ownership of the park, a volunteer day was arranged to allow local residents to plant trees, shrubs, and spread bark mulch in planter beds.

One final touch to the park was a mosaic embedded in the sidewalk at the southern entrance, which was designed and installed by local artist Stephanie Jackson to help identify this narrow entrance.

Despite being closed for much of this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the park has been a great success, providing a much-needed outlet for local kids in a lower income area who previously did not have a playground close by. Additionally, the park will be included in the district's summer playground program in the future, which includes the free lunch program for kids run by Food for Lane County, a nonprofit food bank.