Bethel Park officials recently broke ground on three different playground projects at its municipal parks.

First up was Birch Tree Park on Sept. 24, where the new playground equipment was selected by area residents and will be in compliance with current playground safety standards, according to a news release. Storm sewer work at the park has already been completed.

“Local flooding is a major issue facing many municipalities in the Pittsburgh area,” said Bethel Park director of engineering Stacey Graf. “After the flood of 2018, council made a commitment to complete Flood Control Mitigation Projects throughout the municipality on public property. In this neighborhood, Glenrock and Ashland received major road damage in 2018 due to the large volume of water coming through the valley, as well as many residents with reported flooding.”

The storm sewer project cost $265,000 and was completed by Morgan Excavating in 2020.

On Oct. 1, Oak Tree Park’s playground installation broke ground.

“Incorporated into the renovation of Oak Tree Park, we were able to accomplish two goals,” said Bethel Park council president Tim Moury. “We’re upgrading the playground equipment and pavilion and including stormwater management. Each of our parks will have its own identity, and Oak Tree Park will be known as the only park with ‘Gaga Ball!’”

Not only is the park being upgraded, but it was also moved from its old site due to the location of the new underground tanks installed to collect stream water drainage. The old pavilion was also removed to make room for a larger overall playground space.

Graf said that the new playground equipment will accommodate both younger and older children (ages 2-5 and 5-12). Other amenities will include swings in the upper area, a sunshade for patrons using the playground as well as baseball spectators, a new playground with equipment selected by local area residents, and Bethel Park’s first Gaga Ball pit.

Gaga ball is a dodgeball-type game where players roll the ball with their hands to tag other players.

After the playground is complete, work will be done on sidewalks near the park.

In 2020, the municipality also completed an approximate $400,000 Stormwater Project for the park to alleviate flooding conditions.

Work consisted of installing a diversion structure to intercept and move flow from Summit Street storm sewers to a new underground detention tank field, which collects runoff from 3.5 acres of upstream drainage and can hold about 116,000 gallons of water; installing two new rain gardens to hold back 71,000 gallons of water; and installing French drains around the baseball field to collect water from area springs and the pond resulting in significant water improvements. Water from the facility’s outlet into an existing 18” storm sewer that runs through the park that slowly releases into the downstream pipe over a longer period of time, reducing the amount of flow and thus reducing flooding.

The project was also completed in 2020 by Morgan Excavating.

Finally, on Oct. 15, work at Millennium Park began.

Its upgrades include a new playground, new walking trail, updated ADA compliant restrooms with the addition of a concession stand and the municipality’s first synthetic turf baseball field.

“We’ll also be planting over 76 new trees with the help of Tree Pittsburgh and a generous donation by the Bethel Park/Upper St. Clair Breakfast Rotary,” Moury said.

The new .32 mile ADA compliant walking trail outlines the new ball field and runs behind the existing baseball field now offering guests a .5 mile loop trail to enjoy.

Other improvements will include multiple pitching and base distances allowing for a variety of age groups involved in softball and baseball to play, and previously installed underground tanks adjacent to the new field area to hold about 49,000 gallons of stormwater.

“These tanks will help manage stormwater and reduce runoff and erosion,” Graf said.

And, the playground located on the site will also have its own unique identity as each park in Bethel Park does.

“We again asked local residents for their ideas on the playground structure, and they made the final design decision regarding what would go into the Millennium Park playground,” Graf said.

While portions of the project are complete, the entire update should be wrapped up in November.

The total project cost is $975,000 with part of it funded by a grant from the Land & Water Conservation Fund through Pennsylvania DCNR for $268,300.

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