HELENA — Maybe you noticed a couple pieces of equipment at Pioneer Park playground in Helena are missing or broken. Viewer Kirsten wanted to know if and when the playground will be fixed—as MTN found out, there are actually two answers to that question.
A broken spring rider was removed from the playground, and the slide is blocked off after a vandalism incident.
“Somebody went on the slide and it looks like the stomped on the slide and actually broke a hole through the slide,” City of Helena Parks Superintendent Craig Marr said.
A new slide and new spring rider have been ordered and are on their way, but shipping those items takes time.
“It’s probably going to be about six months before we get the new parts and get them installed,” Marr said.
So the first answer to Kirsten’s question is the broken and missing equipment will likely be replaced around the summer.
The second answer to the question is that in the next couple of years, the entire playground at Pioneer Park will be replaced.
“Typically, we get about 20 to 25 years of life out of a playground,” Marr said. “Pioneer Park playground is right at about 22 years right now.”
The city has two certified playground safety inspectors that check playgrounds monthly, and Marr said the equipment at Pioneer Park playground is safe.
Even so, all of the equipment is set to be replaced in 2026 or 2027.
Replacing the slide costs about $4,000, a new spring rider cost about $1,500—replacing the entire playground will cost a lot more.
“I would think that that one is going to be in the $100,000 to $150,000 range,” Marr estimated.
Playground equipment is selected based on the age of the children that generally use the playground. Marr said Pioneer Park playground is typically used by little kids, so the equipment will be chosen with them in mind.
“They’re always coming up with new equipment and new, exciting things for kids to play on,” Marr said. “So we’ll try and find something exciting to put in there.”
