Summit residents can vote on two proposed playground designs for Memorial Field through an online form the city posted Oct. 26. The deadline is Friday, Nov. 6, with one vote per person.
The city's Department of Community Programs collected more than 200 survey responses over the summer, according to the department's Soldiers Memorial Field page. Two playground manufacturers then developed site plans based on that feedback.
Both designs carry a price tag of roughly $500,000, the figure the city gave manufacturers as a goal. The department said it has $190,000 in past budgets toward the project. It plans to fundraise and request the remaining funds as part of its 2027 Capital Budget. Separately, the Summit Common Council approved $200,000 toward the Memorial Playground in the 2025 Capital Budget, though the relationship between that allocation and the $190,000 figure is unclear.
The playground sits within the 25-acre Soldiers Memorial Field complex. Under the city's 2021 Playground Master Plan, each Summit playground is meant to have a distinct character. The Memorial Playground's goal is to incorporate athletic and obstacle-course-like elements, the department said.
That master plan has already produced results elsewhere in town. In coverage published in July, TAPinto reported that Assistant Director of Community Programs David Guida told the Common Council the Mabie project was part of a larger effort to upgrade recreation spaces citywide. "By the end of this year, we'll have three brand-new playgrounds in Summit," Guida said.
Tatlock Playground has reopened. The city is also continuing plans for a new East Summit neighborhood playground. Students in IDEAS classes at Brayton and Franklin schools provided input on the Memorial Playground design before the broader community survey launched, the department said.
Full renderings of both designs are available on the Summit Community Programs website. Voting closes Nov. 6.
