Swings, slides and a ceremony: Rochester breaks ground on Gifford Park Playground

ROCHESTER — Building a playground is no walk in the park. 

After a year of planning, the Rochester Parks Commission and the non-profit organization Tri-Town for Protecting Children celebrated the new Gifford Park Playground with a groundbreaking on Thursday, May 1.

With shovels in hand and hard hats on, members of the non-profit and Parks Commission dug into the ground as a symbolic start to the construction.

Tri-Town for Protecting Children donated $50,000 to build and design the new playground, with the Parks Commission adding an additional $40,000 from ARPA funds.

“My children used to play here and so we took a look and saw the condition of it and decided that this might be something to put some money toward,” said Jacqueline Eckert, President of Tri-Town for Protecting Children.

Parks Commission Chair David Hughes said the playground that used to occupy the space was not accessible or “big enough” to meet the needs of the community. New equipment at the playground includes slides, swings, a climbing net and a balance beam.

Construction is estimated to finish in about seven to 10 days, according to Hughes.

“[The playground] will benefit everybody: all children, not just Rochester,” he said.

Eckert said she looks forward to seeing children enjoy the new playground.

“This playground will be full of joy, creativity and community. We thank everyone that helped us with this,” she said.