The Grass is Greener at Pebble Creek Park

Pebble Creek Park is one of Southfield’s prominent green spaces that support leisure and recreation activities in the community. The City of Southfield’s Parks & Recreation Department decided they wanted to invest in the redevelopment of the Pebble Creek play set, as the standing play set at the time was over twenty years old and did not meet standards for access and safety for public play environments. To create a new play set, the Parks & Recreation Department required funding to purchase and install new play equipment. In March 2014, The Parks & Recreation Department was granted permission from the City Council to apply to use the Michigan Department of Natural Resources grant funding at Pebble Creek Park to renovate the play area through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a federal program which is allocated annually in the US budget, and administered by the state. The Pebble Creek grant request was for $100,000, and as a federal reimbursement grant, it required an equal local match of $100,000 from the city. In December 2014, the Parks & Recreation Department received notification that the grant application was approved.

Constructing a Better Space

The old equipment at Pebble Creek Park was deteriorated and required higher frequency of maintenance to sustain minimum safety requirements. The existing surfacing needed repeat care to prevent soil compaction and weeds. The new equipment and surfacing will require less maintenance and makes the play lot accessible and fun for all ages and abilities. Construction of the new play set started in the Summer of 2016, and the scope of the project included demolishing the existing play equipment at replacing it with a new jungle gym. In May 2017, installation officially begun. The main contractor for this project, Rolar Property Services, worked with Environmental Consulting & Technology, Inc to design the new play lot and the surrounding area. In just a few weeks, Rolar had prepared the site for the new play area—removing over 125 cubic yards of soil and installing new footings and the rubberized mat underneath the play structures to support safety. Playworld Play Equipment created a play area just for Pebble Creek Park that is inviting to kids of all ages and levels of play.

Cutting the Ribbon

On October 27, 2017 the City of Southfield had an Official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony where the Mayor of Southfield, Kenson Siver, and other city officials gathered to celebrate the success of this project. The Southfield Parks & Recreation Department worked hard to get the grant and remake this space—and the results are well worth it.

Benefitting the Community

This play area at Pebble Creek Park is the only one in the northwest quadrant of Southfield. There are no schools, parks, or other recreational providers in this section of the city. The closest play area is several miles away and across major roads. Pebble Creek is directly next to a large multi-family housing complex and heavily used for both large group picnics and league soccer. This redevelopment provides an incredible play area for all children who visit the park. This project gives the entire park a new look and feel. After all the hard work from everyone involved to make this project a reality, the grass is greener on the other side!To learn about other redevelopment projects and get updates from the Southfield Parks & Recreation Department, you can follow them @SouthfieldParksandRecreation.