Delays for new Lewes Canalfront Park playground
Construction delays have pushed the opening of the new Lewes Canalfront Park playground to spring.
Lewes City Manager Ellen Lorraine McCabe briefed mayor and city council on the project at a Dec. 9 meeting.
Work began in October, but McCabe said due to delays with equipment that was not shipped, preparations of the stone base needed for safety surfacing will not begin until the week of Jan. 20.
Installation of the safety surfacing will not start until mid-late March and take two weeks to complete, McCabe said.
“That’s unfortunate, but we certainly want it to be installed properly,” she said.
Assistant City Manager Janet Reeves said the playground should be finished by early April.
“The poured safety surface material must be installed during a period of weather which is 40 degrees and rising during the day. If there is an early warm spell, we may be able to complete the project earlier,” Reeves said.
Reeves said the delays will not impact the cost of the project.
The price tag is just under $400,000.
The city received a $125,000 grant from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Trails Program.
Reeves said the city has applied for a second grant of up to $100,000.
The playground is designed to be safer and more accessible than the previous equipment.
A sailing ship will be the a centerpiece of the play area.
Bill Shull has been covering Lewes for the Cape Gazette since 2023. He comes to the world of print journalism after 40 years in TV news. Bill has worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He came to Lewes in 2014 to help launch WRDE-TV. Bill served as WRDE’s news director for more than eight years, working in Lewes and Milton. He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State University. Bill is an avid aviation and wildlife photographer, and a big Penn State football, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.
