At press time they were both up, or nearly so, but don’t rush out to break in the new playgrounds at Cedarcrest and Rockwell parks quite yet — the structures need about a week to settle before surfacing can be applied.

The former play structure at Rockwell Park was over 25 years old — and they typically have about a 15-year shelf life. The new structure, befitting its location, resembles an explorer’s ship.

According to Parks and Recreation Director Warren Rensehausen, although Cedarcrest’s structure was not quite as old, the slide had broken off and there was a piece of plywood blocking off the entrance until the structure could be replaced.

Rensehausen’s department solicited bids for the two new structures, putting a premium on the “best bang for the buck.” For the ship design, that was a company called Game Time, with a $75,000 proposal ($10,000 of which was raised for the project through the annual HarborFest event.) In determining the top bid for Cedarcrest, Parks and Rec chose a company called Landscape Structures, finding that their design had the highest play value. That price tag was $45,000. The balance above and beyond the HarborFest proceeds came from the Town’s capital budget.

The surfacing material looks a lot like wood chips — and is a wood product — but is different from standard landscaping chips in several key ways. Playground chips are made from engineered wood fiber, which in turn is made from the wood of a tree, but is cut differently and doesn't include any bark mulch, to minimize splinters. Manufactured to be very fibrous, these chips will bend and flex when they need to cushion a fall. Finally, playground wood chips do not include any foreign materials.

Certified by the International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA), playground chips are rigorously tested and applied at a 12” depth all around the play structures.