KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The city of Knoxville is spending more than $500,000 to upgrade playgrounds at three city parks by the time spring arrives.
Three new playgrounds are planned for Skyline Park in East Knoxville, Inskip Park in North Knoxville, and at Fountain City Park. The city said it is spending close to $531,000 total to upgrade the equipment at each park.
The city of Knoxville said crews started removing the old play structure at Fountain City Park Monday. The upgraded playground is expected to open in early April.
“We scheduled the installations in winter, when the playgrounds are used less, to reduce the impact of the short-term inconvenience. The good news is that one of the playgrounds will be back open in February, with the other two reopening in April," said Parks and Recreation Director Sheryl Ely.
Crews are scheduled to begin installing the new Skyline Park playground in early February, and work is expected to wrap up by the end of that month.
At Inskip Park, crews will be pouring a new concrete pad over the next few weeks. The playground will reopen once the new surface and equipment are installed, which is expected to wrap up by the end of April.
The city said the parks will remain open, but the playgrounds will be closed as crews work on them.
“We appreciate the patience of families as we switch out the play structures at these parks,” Ely said. “We think the families who love our parks will really enjoy these state-of-the-art new play structures."
When spring arrives, the city said Paul Hogue Park will also be getting a new toddler playground. The city said it will announce the schedule and details later this year.
The city will be posting progress updates to the Parks and Recreation Facebook page.