As a way of revitalizing the impoverished areas of the city, the Near Westside Initiative unveiled a prototype of playground equipment on Wednesday with the hope that it will spark engagement and improve health among Near Westside residents.

The prototype was the result of the winning entry of the “Movement on Main” contest. The design competition was created by Syracuse University in which landscape and architectural firms all over the world competed for the best proposal to redesign the Near Westside neighborhood’s Wyoming Street.

The goal of the prototype of the playground equipment is that it will provide a place for children to play with while fighting obesity and other weight-related conditions in the community.

The prototype was displayed on Otisco Street and featured colorful rubber mounds, balancing boards and roundabouts with more equipment to come.

“All of these mounds are orientated toward kids being able to jump and play and interact,” said Maarten Jacobs, director of the Near Westside Initiative, saying the equipment promoted “exercise without seeming like exercise.”

The community struggles with diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, and the play area would be the first step in helping alleviate some of these problems, he added.

Jacobs said the demonstration would help give the community a better idea of the plans for the street than the computer renderings on the Movement on Main website.

“We can do all of those fancy renderings,” he said, “But until you have something that you can touch and feel it didn’t really mean much.”

He added that the mounds will also function as seating for adults while they wait at the bus stop.

STOSS, the Boston-based firm, designed the playground.  The group was one of 16 firms in an international design contest, “Movement on Main,” and won after being picked among five semifinalists.

A jury made up of residents, business owners, Syracuse and Onondaga County officials had chosen the design, Jacobs said.

Scott Bishop, a landscape architect at STOSS, said the firm worked with researchers from Harvard University to look into how exercise benefits mental and physical health. The final design “allows for a full interaction of the body and the mind,” he said.

Bishop added that there would be more elements in the final Wyoming Street installation, including motion-sensing lights, LEDs imbedded in equipment and a rain garden, as well as work on the street itself.

Wyoming Street was chosen as the location of the redesign because it is bookended by Nojaim Brothers Supermarket and the new WCNY location, Jacobs said. He added that the area had “just the right amount of space.”

The nearby Westside Academy at Blodgett brought students to the unveiling to get their input on the design.

Kelley Duffy, an instructional coach at the school, said the play area would instill a sense of community pride in local children.

“It just feels very uplifting and fun,” she said.  “You can see the kids all smiling and playing, and I don’t always see that in school.”

The unveiling of the design is only the beginning of the project, said Jacobs, the Near Westside Initiative director.

Said Jacobs: “This is really step one in a hundred other steps. We have significant funding that needs to still happen, our goal would be to start construction in the spring of 2015.”

Published on November 7, 2013 at 1:06 am

Contact Zach: zdschwei@syr.edu