(Updated at 5:25 p.m.) McLean Central Park is getting a new playground, but the exact design will depend on whether a group of local moms can raise nearly $400,000 by the end of this year.

Ideally, the facility will have a rubberized surface to cushion the ground, tot lot fencing, additional seating and plenty of shiny, modern equipment, including an adaptive tandem swing and other elements accessible to people with disabilities.

But the vision of an inclusive playground reminiscent of the one at Clemyjontri Park exceeds the $279,361 that the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) has budgeted for the project as part of an overhaul of the 28-acre park at 1468 Dolley Madison Blvd.

To close the funding gap, a group of volunteering parents formed the McLean Central Park Playground Team and launched a community fundraising campaign in early March.

“We were all extremely passionate about making sure that this was an inclusive playground for all different types of abilities and ages,” said Jessica Wu, who joined the team last year. “…Clemyjontri is amazing. It’s a wonderful, wonderful playground and we’re so lucky to have it right in our backyard here, but McLean Central Park, that’s our central park, right? That’s the heart of McLean.”

While the fundraiser is just getting underway, it continues a years-long advocacy effort that began in a McLean Facebook group, when Cara Schantz, a McLean native, expressed disappointment with the playground options for young kids after moving back to the area from Arlington County.

She wasn’t alone in her dissatisfaction, as others chimed in with their own experiences, shaped in part by having more time to take their kids to local parks during the early months of the Covid pandemic, fellow original team member Ang Golder recalls.

Clemyjontri has been lauded for accommodating kids with physical and developmental disabilities, but its uniqueness makes it a regional draw, which can mean crowds, the parents told FFXnow. Many other playgrounds belong to schools, making them off-limits when classes are in session.

When Schantz and Golder learned the park authority was developing a concept for new facilities at McLean Central, they saw an opportunity to advocate for improvements to the existing playground for school-aged kids and tot lot.

Installed in 1998 and 2002, respectively, the playground and tot lot are on opposite ends of the park, inconveniencing families with kids of different ages.

“It makes no sense that the playgrounds are like…two or three blocks apart,” Schantz said.

Initially, the FCPA presented a concept for the park in spring 2021 that left both facilities in their existing locations and replaced the school-aged playground, which is at the end of its useful life, according to spokesperson Benjamin Boxer. Read More

While the long-term vision for McLean Central Park continues to take shape, community members can expect to see a more immediate change later this month.

Work will begin in mid-August to replace an aging, wooden bridge in the park (1468 Dolley Madison Blvd) with a fiberglass bridge that will last longer and require less maintenance, the Fairfax County Park Authority announced last week.

The agency has enlisted contractor AP Construction LLC for the project, which carries a price tag of approximately $116,200.

Since fiberglass doesn’t corrode like wood, manufacturers typically anticipate a 50-year lifespan for fiberglass bridges compared to 20 years for wood structures, according to FCPA Trails Program Manager Tom McFarland.

“Further, fiberglass trail bridges are lighter and easier to assemble than traditional bridges built from wood or steel,” McFarland told FFXnow by email. “The parts can be hand carried to the site and assembled using common hand tools. These bridges are also stronger than the typical wood structure.”

McFarland says the park authority typically uses bridges supplied by the Pennsylvania-based manufacturer Creative Pultrusions that can hold the weight of a 10,000-pound piece of equipment if needed.

“All of these factors make the fiberglass bridge a much more desirable and economical choice,” he said.

The McLean Central Park bridge replacement is projected to finish in late September, depending on the weather, according to the park authority.

During the project, portions of the park’s trail will be closed “as a safety precaution.” The park authority warns residents to expect “occasional traffic” at Martha Jane Street, which will be used as an access point for construction materials and equipment.