Mission: Build Multi-Million Dollar Playground
When The Teller heard about plans to build a $1.5 million playground in Boston’s Beacon Hill, our first thought wasn’t that this couldn’t possibly be true. Rather, we couldn’t help but not be all that surprised that the residents of one of the richest neighborhoods in the city actually came up with such an over-the-top idea.
Friends of Esplanade Playspace, a Beacon Hill parents’ group, plan on privately financing what will ultimately be known as the Mecca of playgrounds. Yes, let us please build an overly-priced adventure wonderland for these kids with $50,000-a-year private school educations, nannies and nicknames like Bunny and Chip. They are obviously lacking so much.
What should be surprising is that Mayor Thomas M. Menino fully supports it. Yes, he loves that no one is asking for city money to pay for it. But what about neighborhoods like East Boston and Dorchester, where the population has been asking the mayor to improve their quality of life? Don’t they deserve a new playground too?
The planned 10,000-square-foot playground will feature rocks for climbing, nets, a jungle gym, swings and slides. It’s geared for five to 12-year-olds, and apparently the neighborhood’s three other playgrounds are too young for this age group. Okay, The Teller can understand that, but if these playground advocates are so concerned about appropriate play spaces, why not divvy up the $1.5 million and build playgrounds all over the city, in addition to theirs?
According to KaBOOM! – the national nonprofit that builds play spaces all across the country – the average cost to construct one of their playgrounds in Boston is $63,000. That’s almost 24 "age appropriate" playgrounds that $1.5 million can build around the city.
Not to get all philosophical, but someone once said, “In about the same degree as you are helpful, you will be happy.” Sure, the children of Beacon Hill will be beaming with joy with the addition of another playground, but so would thousands of other kids throughout Boston if they got to join in on the fun too.
So, Friends of Esplanade Playspace, what do you have to say to that?
