Splash pad in Tinicum Township park permanently closed: Here's what we know
Splash pad in Tinicum Township park will not reopen
A splash pad water attraction in Governor Printz Park that was opened just before COVID has been permanently closed.
TINICUM TWP., Pa. - It was the perfect place to cool off from the summer heat in Tinicum Township, until it wasn’t.
What we know:
A splash pad water attraction in Governor Printz Park that was opened just before COVID has been closed permanently.
The splash pad was built in 2019 but closed in March 2020.
Since then, all the newly installed features have been removed, piping has been covered over with patches and all that’s left is a concrete slab where the temperature was 116 degrees.
Meanwhile, kids were playing feet away on the playground equipment.
One post on Facebook this weekend said "Turn on the splash pad now or tear it down".
Local perspective:
"Hot days like this, kids need somewhere to go", said Maqui Rideout of Southwest Philadelphia.
Rideout brought his kids to the park to cool off on Monday night but was shocked to see the splash pad empty and dry as a bone.
He remembers being here right after it was built.
"I came here for the sprinklers for the kids. Cause it’s really hot outside, but I guess they ripped it out. So I guess we are just going to be hot outside," said Rideout.
Dig deeper:
"A lot of the pools you have to have a membership. And you have to be grandfathered in, or you have to know members to sign up, so I think a splash pad here would be great," said parent Tanisha Robinson of Delaware County.
Last August, township manager David Schreiber told FOX 29 the township paid $100,000 to build the splash pad. It was part of a $2 million dollar renovation of Governor Pritz Park.
"It was a constant maintenance issue and the water bill was a number of times higher than the Township anticipated," said Schreiber.
He also said there were a number of acts of vandalism.
Commissioners made the decision to close it after one season because of constant maintenance issues, unexpected high water bills and several acts of vandalism. "For these reasons, the Board of Commissioners did not open the pad after the pandemic," he said.
Some say on days like these, a place to cool off would be a welcome sight.
"They should bring it back, especially on a day like today," said Sandra Verdi of Clifton Heights.
The Township also says several day care and summer camp groups refused to get insurance certificates for their groups, which also led to the closure.