College Square Park in the Village of Cambridge has playground equipment and restroom facilities that are in dire need of replacement and updating.  As the playground equipment nears it's eighteen year anniversary, it is time to begin replacing it for two reasons. First, due to safety reasons, industry standard is that playground equipment, depending on location and sun exposure, nears end of life beginning at eighteen years of age. Our equipment has met this age threshold. It needs to be proactively replaced before an accident due to stress or wear and tear happens. Second, current physical wellness trends promote exercising multiple core muscle groups while promoting slight risk opportunities for children to discover their mental and physical limits. Studies have shown that when children are presented with playground equipment that allows them to experiment with their physical and mental abilities, the frequency of injury goes down. Examples of such equipment can be found at  https://willygoat.com/collections/obstacle-course-playgrounds

The park's current playground equipment was designed at a time when bridges, steps and slides were viewed as sufficient. When compared to new park equipment in surrounding communities, such as Geneseo, Cambridge’s equipment is outdated and does not meet the new diverse physical and mental standards being promoted. Newly constructed playgrounds in the surrounding communities offer a wider variety of physical activity. Simply  running on bridges, up steps and down slides no longer interests our children nor does it provide them with enough physical stimuli.

The Village of Cambridge has made many updates to the park in the past twelve months. These include swings, a band shell for concerts, updated softball diamond and a farmers’ market. However, the essential facilities such as a playground for children to use while parents are attending these new programs, and restrooms for all to use while on the campus, have gone largely ignored. Increased traffic due to concerts, ball games and the farmers’ market require restrooms that are not dark, rusty and unable to be thoroughly cleaned. After going through a pandemic, a restroom that has updated floors, light fixtures, stalls and toilets is necessary for cleaning purposes. Park patrons should not have to use the gas station restroom or go home because the park restrooms are ill-kept and dirty. It is essential that these basic facilities be on par with the other great updates the Village has added to the park.

We believe it is the Village's responsibility to address and fund these necessary playground and restroom updates in order to promote active play and encourage even more visitors to enjoy our newly implemented band shell, sporting events and farmers’ market implemented this year.