Turf plan could make Bluffton's DuBois Park safer
A plan to improve the DuBois Park playground in Bluffton could mean fewer sprained ankles for kids who tumble off the monkey bars.
Town officials are pursuing state grants to add a layer of synthetic turf to the ground around the playground area.
Special padding beneath the new surface would help reduce the impact of falls from up to 12 feet, assistant director of growth management Kendra Lelie recently told Beaufort County's Parks and Leisure Services board.
DuBois Park "is an amazingly popular park ... but we have seen some concerns from a safety perspective," she said.
In addition to improving safety, replacing the current mulch surface would make the playground more accessible for people with wheelchairs, Lelie said.
It would also be cheaper to maintain because town staff would not have to regularly replace mulch, she added.
The turf, which looks and feels like grass, is anti-microbial and "dries quickly, allowing children to play immediately following a rain," Lelie said.
The project, which would resurface approximately 4,000 square feet, is estimated to cost $60,000.
Town officials are hoping grant money from the state's Parks and Recreation Development Fund will pay for 80 percent of the project.
That fund, which comes from bingo tax revenues, is "designed to (pay for)... projects that add to the recreational value" of local municipalities, county parks and leisure services director Scott Marshall said earlier this week.
He called the resurfacing proposal "a shovel-ready project."
The project has the endorsement of the county's parks and leisure services board, and Bluffton officials will likely submit an application to the state in the coming weeks.
If the funding comes through, Lelie said the installation of the turf will take about 60 days. The plan is to begin installation late this winter or early next spring.
Over the summer, DuBois Park was the recipient of about $50,000 worth of landscaping and lighting improvements. That work was paid for using town capital improvement funds.
Follow reporter Lucas Highon Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Lucas.
Related content:
- Bluffton's DuBois Park to undergo renovations, July 6, 2015
- Should town ban smoking in Bluffton parks?, Sept. 18, 2015
This story was originally published September 30, 2015 at 5:11 PM with the headline "Turf plan could make Bluffton's DuBois Park safer."