Shiny but headed for tarnish? Kingsessing Park

Playground: Kingsessing Park playground
Location: Kingsessing at 50th St.
Date visited: 8/1/10 (Sunday morning)

Equipment: Two playsets not too far apart:

• Tot zone is a lower set of platforms (around 3 feet) including steps and low climbing bits, solid and jointed bridges (the latter daunted our 29-month-old), three slides (all metal), and small kid-height benches in a gazebo setting in the middle. Decent shade in this zone. Also a freestanding hobby horse.
  
  
• Bigger kid zone has platforms around 6 feet. Neat sorts of climbing (as well as steps), a lon bridge, submarine-style climbing into the middle of one platform, straight and spiral slides (metal). Underneath the fun continues, with a "monkey bar" stretch of rings, little seats, and door/window for smaller kids. No shade over any of this equipment though.

There's also a row of swings that is between the two playsets, with 4 buckets and 4 straps (and also a stretch missing whatever it might have been intended to contain).
Ages: 1-9
Surface: rubbery
Shade(0-3): 2/0
Water: N
Other: ballfield, extra grassy field (football? soccer?), large brick rec. center (onetime school?), pool, basketball, tennis practice wall, tennis courts (with no nets), picnic tables, some blacktop/cement areas, a loop for small bikes or skateboards
Access: open access

Impressions: A location sandwiched between two large playing fields gives this park playground a nice feel, despite the hard-worn nearby houses and presence of blowing trash. Well-designed and creative equipment offer fun for a range of ages, with features to challenge or entertain. Shaded picnic tables and easy parking (and/or nearby trollies on Chester) are a plus, although the exposure of the swings is a bit hard for hot summer days. On net, the place is close to being a destination playground, but there are signs that the recent overhaul, funded by a federal grant, isn't being kept up -- missing nets on the tennis courts, broken bucket swings (2 out of 4), and the trash issues. I hope that somebody in the area will hold the Recreation Department to a better standard of behavior, but it's hard to know.
Overall rating: 8