Aquatic Facilities
Highland Park Sprayground
Billings, Montana
Client: City of Billings, Montana
When the old Highland Park wading pool was deemed unsanitary by the local Health Department, the City of Billings had to close the pool in this established neighborhood. Highland Park is a neighborhood park that is located in a lower-income area of the City. When local residents realized their park would no longer have this important aquatic facility, the local neighborhood Task Force took action to obtain Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to replace the wading pool. The concept of a “sprayground” had been implemented in a similar sized park in another area of the City and not only complied with sanitary regulations, but it also became a very popular attraction for the neighborhood. With a project budget of $199,000, the local residents were ready to make something happen.
The prime consultant on the project was Peaks to Plains Design, a local landscape architecture firm. Peaks to Plains Design teamed with Interstate Engineering to provide surveying, civil and construction administration services.
Working with the neighborhood Task Force and children living in the neighborhood, a game theme was developed for the layout of the sprayground. The game theme took regular sprayground elements and arranged them in a way to make them more imaginative and interactive. The game elements were hopscotch, leap frog, limbo, cannon bomb and raise the flag. These elements were arranged on a colored concrete pad that accented each game. In order to get the vibrant primary colors outlined in the design, a “shake on” color hardener was used. Also challenging was the project timeline. The directive from the City required the sprayground to be ready by city-wide opening day of the aquatics facilities. The design team and contractors had only five months from design to completion. Effective communication and collaboration from the design team, contractors and vendors, allowed the project to be completed within the City's timeline.
