New Playground Equipment Coming To Princeton’s Harrison Street Park

PRINCETON, NJ — Harrison Street Park is getting new playground equipment designed for younger children and kids of all abilities.

The Mayor and Council approved an $80,560.56 contract with Kompan, Inc. for the equipment at its meeting meeting. The town is buying it through New Jersey Cooperative Purchasing Alliance contract BC-BID-24-35.

The equipment is designed for children ages 2 to 5. The park’s existing playground is designed for ages 5 to 12, Recreation Director Evan Moorhead said in an Oct. 7 memo to the mayor and council. He wrote that the new piece “was a request that had been voiced by numerous residents to the Recreation Commission over the last 2 years.”

“People had come to recreation asking for stuff for younger kids, and so this was why that was done,” Municipal administrator Bernie Hvozdovic, Jr. Said

The memo says the equipment will have “components that provide physical, social and cognitive stimulation for youth of all ability levels.” It will include several climbers, a double slide, multiple play panels, a talking tube and a spinner seat, among other features.

Council member David Cohen asked whether the new equipment follows the same accessible design as other recent playgrounds in town. “Is this universal accessible playground design like the other recent ones that we’ve done?” Cohen asked. The answer was yes.

Councimember Brian McDonald said the design also reflects input from the Recreation Commission. At a commission meeting, one commissioner suggested ways to make the playground more accessible, McDonald said. “The recreation director promised to follow up and try to make sure as many of those features were incorporated as possible,” McDonald said.

A memo that came with the resolution says the equipment will include “components that provide physical, social and cognitive stimulation for youth of all ability levels.” It lists several climbers, a double slide, multiple play panels, talking tubes and a spinner seat, among other features.

The equipment is new and won’t replace anything, so no removal or demolition is needed first, the memo says. It will go in an open section of the park next to the existing swing set for ages 2 to 5. The project also includes a border around the equipment and wood fiber mulch safety surfacing that meets Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

The cost is $80,560.56. The memo says all pricing is through the Bergen County Co-Op, which Princeton belongs to. The resolution lists it as New Jersey Cooperative Purchasing Alliance contract BC-BID-24-35. Princeton is paying $80,000 from a 2026 capital account and the remaining $560.56 from another capital account.

McDonald thanked the staff who worked on the project. “I know they spent a lot of time on this, and we’re very grateful to receive the resources to be able to work with vendors to design and install this,” McDonald said.

No installation date was given at the meeting.

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