Popular Pocatello playground to reopen with new, needed attraction
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POCATELLO — The new Idaho Central Credit Union Splashpad has an official opening date — just in time for the summer.
The splash pad grand opening — and Brooklyn Playground re-opening — ceremony is scheduled for 5:15 p.m., Monday, June 10, according to a news release from the City of Pocatello.
“We are thrilled to announce these grand openings,” Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad says in the release. “We appreciate the partnership we have with ICCU and Brooklyn’s Buddies to bring these two projects together. We couldn’t be more excited to make this park available to the public for a great time to play, cool off, and spend time with their family.”
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Pocatello’s newest summer attraction, the ICCU Splashpad, features a 3,000-square-foot “wet zone” which sprays water in various directions, the release says. It is designed to be used by people of all ages, with a section for toddlers and another for older children.
The splash pad is located near Brooklyn’s Playground — at O.K. Ward Park on West Quinn Road.
Built in 2011 using money donated by residents, Brooklyn’s Playground is designed to be all-inclusive.
Jonny Fisher, a Pocatello resident and one of the driving forces behind the construction of the playground, saw a need for it when his daughter, Brooklyn — who was born with spina bifida — was four.
“It’s a playground for kids of all abilities,” Fisher told EastIdahoNews.com as the playground prepared for a 10-year anniversary in 2021. “Able-bodied kids can come here and have fun, kids in wheelchairs, kids with walkers, kids with mental disabilities — it’s designed around being inclusive to everybody.”
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Through funding and volunteer work from “Brooklyn’s Buddies” — a committee formed to oversee the playground — Brooklyn’s Playground will reopen with a new turf surface and repainted equipment.
This marks the first time the playground surface has been replaced since its construction, the release says.