Whaling Construction has been tapped by the City Council to complete voter-approved improvements to Kiddie Park — an amusement park for youngsters located on the southwest side of Johnstone Park in Bartlesville.
The council voted Monday to approve a contract with the company to replace fencing around Kiddie Park — a project approved by voters in the 2018 General Obligation Bond Election — in addition to adjacent street and Pathfinder Parkway Trail improvements utilizing funds from the 2017 G.O. Bond and the 2013 half-cent sales tax extension.
The project includes the installation of a decorative fence and entry lighting for Kiddie Park, a mill and overlay of the roadway along the east side of the park, an extension of the Pathfinder trail along the east side of the road and the installation of bollards along the sides of the roadway. The fencing and gates around the east half of Kiddie Park will eight-foot decorative aluminum fencing, while the west half will be eight-foot chain-link.
According to Director of Engineering Micah Siemers, the project started out solely as replacement of the existing Kiddie Park perimeter fencing with a more decorative fence and an upgraded entryway. However, when staff began working on the project it was clear more needed to be done to improve pedestrian safety and aesthetics for the areas just outside the park. Funds were then identified for making some roadway improvements and extending the pathfinder parkway from an existing trailhead to a point further into Johnstone Park.
“The current configuration of the roadway and entrance into the Kiddie Park is troublesome at best,” Siemers said. “Two way traffic and erratic parking on the east side of the road create the opportunity for pedestrian-vehicle conflicts when the Kiddie Park is active. The new configuration will provide one-way traffic from our new parking lot, located just south of the Kiddie Park, to a point where the road loops into Johnstone Park.
“There will be a series of decorative bollards that will separate the roadway from the pathfinder extension as well to improve safety and provide an actual trail connection to Johnstone Park rather than the current configuration that essentially uses the road as Pathfinder. Not only will this project improve safety, but it will look a lot nicer than it does right now.”
Siemers said the road is currently a combination of weathered asphalt and gravel.
“We hated to make the nice improvements to the Kiddie Park but still have a decomposing roadway running right past the gate,” he said.
Siemers said work on the parking lot began last week.
Funding for the project comes from several sources, including 2018 General Obligation Bond funds for the fence upgrades, 2017 G.O. Bond street savings for the roadway portion of the project, and half-cent sales tax funds allocated for Pathfinder improvements as part of the 2013 half-cent sales tax extension.
The contract with Whaling Construction, a Bartlesville company, is $302,379. Work is expected to begin around the end of February to facilitate completion prior to the Kiddie Park opening for the season in May.
For more information, see Kiddie Park site plan.