5280 Magazine – May 2018

24 |^5280 |^ MAY 2018

Clockwise from top left: Courtesy of Landscape Structures; iStock (2); Stephen Barnes/UK/Alamy Stock Photo; iStock; Courtesy of Drew Christie (Leftover Salmon album artwork); Courtesy of Davis Partnership Architects; Courtesy of Matrix Design Group & Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds

TRENDING

hose monkey bars we all played on as tykes might have been working wonders for our

muscles, but they weren’t doing enough for our gray matter. Recent research suggests that

multifaceted playground equipment (which children can interact with in many diferent

ways) can spur greater cognitive development in young people. Which is partly why these

three new local play areas plan to implement structures that will help kids better their

brains as well as their bodies. —SHANE MONAGHAN

Play A Dierent Way

Denver’s newest playgrounds trade traditional slides

and swings for much more innovative fixtures.

TUNING IN

At more than 15 years old,
the outdated play structures
at Paco Sanchez Park
have needed an upgrade
for a while. They’ll get it
when Denver Parks and
Recreation debuts the
first phase of Paco San-
chez’s “Re-Imagine Play”
initiative this month. The
playground’s inventive
design features fun elements
such as a climbing area and a
complex, 30-foot-tall slide sys-
tem that resembles a vintage
microphone, paying homage
to the park’s namesake, who
was a radio host and activist.
Look for even more creative
equipment next summer when
the second stage of construc-
tion wraps up.

1 2 3

Things To Discuss

This Month...While

Riding (Or Hiking, Or

Running) The Newly

Expanded Colorado

Riverfront Trail

AIR

IN THE

What’s worse: Paying

$2.50 an hour to park at

Chautauqua Park on

summer weekends or

smelling post-trek Royal

Arch hikers on the free

shuttles to downtown?

The May 4 record release

party at eTown Hall

for Boulder jam band

Leftover Salmon’s latest

album, Something Higher.

SECOND NATURE

Many new playgrounds nation-

wide feature natural elements

like trees be-

cause kids tend

to spend more

time engag-

ing with them.

Westminster

Station Park

is one of those

play spaces.

When it opens in the fall near

the B Line light-rail station, the

play area’s two acres will hold

giant boulders, treehouses,

and logs repurposed from

ash and honey locust trees

that needed to be removed

from existing green spaces

or other parts of the city.

INCLUSIVE SPACE

The first time Lucia “LuBird”

Dawkins—who uses a wheel-

chair because of a rare genetic

disorder—swayed in a sup-

portive swing, her face broke

into a wide grin. Knowing that

few Denver-area playgrounds

boast such equipment, her

parents created LuBird’s Light

Foundation to build special-

needs-targeted play spaces.

Its first playground, at Stanley

Marketplace, will feature a rub-

ber surface that allows kids in

wheelchairs to

travel smoothly

across the

ground—and

easily reach

LuBird’s favor-

ite swings.

Whether you should

spring for the royal

wedding package at

the JW Marriott Denver

Cherry Creek, which

includes an early wake-

up call so you don’t

miss Prince Harry’s

May 19 nuptials.

A rendering of

Paco Sanchez

Park’s play-

ground, which

is getting a

major upgrade

this month

The end (we hope) of one

of the worst flu seasons

in recent memory:

Colorado saw more

than 3,600 flu-related

hospitalizations this

winter. Keep your friends

close and your hand

sanitizer closer.