CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – The final playground Hurricane Florence damaged is set to open by next Friday following a delay.
Taylor Newell, the spokeswoman for the City of Conway says people reach out all the time asking when Kiwanis playground will reopen and part of the reason the City decided to rebuild it is because it was used so much.
Flood waters from Hurricane Florence rose to the top of the playground equipment meaning it all needed to be replaced. However, Newell says that should not be an issue in the future as the new equipment is more flood water resistant.
“We’ve been able to go in and put all equipment that if it floods, it will be okay,” Newell said. “We will be able to go in and pressure wash and go from there. This equipment will be able to last us a long time and that’s one of the things we wanted to look for in rebuilding this playground. If we were going to keep it here, we wanted to make sure it was something that would last.”
The City had to wait for FEMA funding approval to rebuild the playground and it was set to open by the end of 2019, but due to weather the City now says it should open by the end of next week if weather permits.
The final step of the reconstruction is laying the turf.
Newell says though construction on the Riverwalk is coming to a close, the City is still working with the USTA on building a new tennis center and there are a few final projects they are working on.
“We still have a little bit to do here in River Front Park,” Newell explained. “We’ve been working a lot on the landscaping the last couple of months and we will continue to do that as the spring season comes in, but we’re really excited. This is kind of turning over a new leaf for this community they are finally getting to see everything coming together and be rebuilt.”
