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New Playground Opens at Bittner Park

After months of planning and construction, Guilford Parks and Recreation has cut the ribbon on a brand new playground at Bittner Park. The project, paid for with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, entered the planning phase in March. After soliciting input from residents, Parks and Recreation began installing the new equipment in October.

“In March, we formed a small, enthusiastic playground committee,” said Pam Gery, the director of Guilford Parks and Recreation. “We also invited top vendors to submit designs within budget,” she said.

Gery and the parks and recreation staff received the designs from the five vendors they had invited. The goal was to take a few of them and put out a vote in June to see what families in the Guilford area thought was the best. Throughout the process of disassembling the old playground and putting the new one together, Guilford Parks and Recreation made sure to keep their followers up to date with all of the construction, up until its opening.

The committee decided not just to replace the old playground at Bittner Park, but also made an effort to assist a park that was in desperate need.

“As a final gesture, we donated the original Bittner playground equipment to Guatemala, supported by the non-profit Kids Alive and Connecticut’s own Jay Fredland,” she said. “The town did not pay anything toward this donation except the labor to disassemble it. All funds to ship the equipment overseas was through the Kids Alive non-profit.”

The playground officially opened on Nov. 1, kicking off its introductory week that would be followed by a ribbon cutting on Nov. 4 and a grand opening on Nov. 5.

Next up, Parks and Recreation is looking to install a new patio area at Bittner Park. Residents are invited to help support the effort by purchasing a brick to honor a loved one, celebrate or memory, or show support. Bricks start at $100 and are for sale until Jan. 1.

For more information or to purchase a brick, visit www.thatsmybrick.com/guilfordparkrec.