BARRIE PARK

Located within Oak Park, Illinois the existing 3.4-acre park included an aging playground, circular walking path, baseball and soccer fields, and a sledding hill.  Northwest of the park includes Barrie Center, with a tot-lot playground. Through a masterplan community engagement process, key areas were identified for improvement which were incorporated into the park renovations. These included a new multi-age playground with synthetic turf surfacing and mounds, a natural “Discovery play area” to encourage unstructured play for younger children, expanded outdoor fitness opportunities with new adult fitness stations, improved visibility, and access, mitigated erosion and wear issues at the existing sled hill and seatwalls, and renovated the existing tot lot at the Barrie Community Center to serve the public and daycare users. The scope of work also provided on-site infiltration underneath the playground, ADA improvements at street corners, and new lighting and site furnishings. Rain gardens were added to mitigate flooding and improve the diversity of the landscape.