Despite much public objection, the City of Harbor Springs will reinstall 12-year-old, weathered playground equipment on May 1st in the heart of lower Zorn Park. 

We can urge City leaders to reconsider their playground plan in favor of a better solution – prioritizing a safe, long-lasting, maintenance-free design accessible to ALL children and families and in line with the Park’s natural character at no cost to taxpayers.

Your help is needed! Please sign the petition today!

Here is a summary of concerns regarding the City’s plan:

• It lacks vision. The Parks and Recreation Committee rushed to choose its location due to convenience. The site is careless and will have long-lasting impacts on the community if adopted.
• It will eliminate crucial open green space utilizing an excessive 2,500 sqft footprint—covered in unsightly brown mulch plus 200 sqft of new concrete sidewalks—and will occupy the only prominent shade in the Park.
• Shrinks the vital available space of the Park for all to enjoy by taking away the most popularly used spot. 
• With no padding, the wood fiber chips will be hard on bare feet and can be ingested or thrown by kids. The area will also accumulate hazardous goose feces, requiring costly ongoing maintenance to ensure cleanliness and safety.
• It uses six outdated components (slide, swings, etc.) salvaged from the Beach with a spread-out configuration. The plan takes up an egregious amount of park space and offers children fewer play pieces that are not multi-sensory and in line with modern park design.
• Will NOT create a park for ALL children to enjoy. The outdated equipment is not ADA-compliant. Kids with wheelchairs, crutches, or different ranges of motion cannot play safely.

Let’s Play Fair:

City administration claims to have sought public feedback regarding its placement of the playground in the open grassy part of the Park. Yet, they steadfastly dismissed many significant concerns and even ignored the City’s master survey, which says that 93% want to preserve valuable green space and the waterfront.

To learn about our alternative playground plan, which addresses the needs of ALL our children and families, preserves the Park’s precious open space and natural beauty, and puts the City’s cost and maintenance concerns to rest, please see the Petition Update section.

Sign today (no donation required) and make your voice heard by Harbor Spring City Council! Please share this link with others to help save Zorn Park!