The San Bartolomé City Council has put out to tender the drafting of a project to improve and modernize the municipality's playgrounds, worth 23,000 euros plus VAT. The execution period will be one year and interested parties will have until July 1 to submit their proposals.
Regarding the works, the City Council anticipates that they will have a budget of one million euros and will intervene in the parks of Playa Honda (located on San Borondón street with Mástil street, Velero street and Gueldera street, La Plazuela street and Guardilama street and Guatisea street) and in those of the town of San Bartolomé (on Los Reyes street and Las Peñas street, Plaza del Carmen and the playground located in Plaza Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente).
The mayor, Alexis Tejera, has pointed out that this project "must respond to the need to remodel several of the playgrounds, rehabilitating and replacing those parts of them that are deteriorated.
In general, all spaces will include rest areas near the play areas for companions, the presence of water through fountains or play elements, shade spaces, an irrigation network, vegetation and night lighting, as well as easy and economical future maintenance that guarantees durability, so the structure of the play equipment must be made of stainless steel.
On the other hand, according to the City Council, "to meet the needs, the environment must be taken into account, issues such as accessibility in the area and play elements, promoting integration, delimited, safe spaces, a friendly and suggestive landscape, elimination of unevenness, areas for parents, mothers and companions to interact and color contrast so that all children can perceive the environment".
In the playground area, "play elements selected for their versatility in terms of their possible use, suitable pavement, access dimensions with a companion, protection elements, informative signs and integration of braille language, pictograms for children with autism spectrum disorders, play areas separated from traffic areas and resources to reduce vehicle speed such as signage" must be considered.
In the play elements, they explain that "manipulation games with sensory experience, elements that favor physical and social activity, informative signs and integration of braille language, pictograms for children with ASD" will be taken into account.
The mayor emphasizes that "it has been considered essential to include all accessibility measures, which implies that any person with any type of disability must be able to make a continuous journey from their origin to their destination, facilitating not only the use of the different elements of the park, but also the movement and access to it".
In addition, he pointed out that these works in San Bartolomé and Playa Honda will be joined by others in the rest of the towns. In this regard, Tejera recalled that in El Islote, the work on the Civic Center includes the expansion of the park; in Montaña Blanca, it is included within the project that improves the sports court and the playground; and in the town of Güime, a project will contemplate the modernization of the entire park, the square, the bus stop and sports courts.