Kaua'i children getting custom play bridge
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser KauaÎi Bureau
Jan TenBruggencate • The Honolulu Advertiser
WAILUA, Kaua'i — Volunteer crews have started work on a vast fantasy playground bridge slung between two sand dunes at the extension of Lydgate Park.
Crews set posts for a huge fantasy bridge designed by and for children at the southern end of the Lydgate Park expansion. Kamalani Kai 2001 will be built by volunteers over the next two weeks.
Kamalani Kai 2001 is the follow-up to a remarkably successful event in 1994, when hundreds of people came together to build a playground in Lydgate Park, just south of the Wailua River.
The Kamalani Playground and the new Kamalani Bridge are not ordinary children's recreational facilities. They are complex structures offering a range of areas for kids to explore.
The bridge design includes bike path, jogging and walk ways, as well as lookouts, tunnels, mazes and slides, said Tim Bynum, organizer of the projects.
Design drawing for both Kamalani projects was done by Bob Leathers of Leathers and Associates, who specializes in community-built architecture.
Leathers sat down with children around the island and asked them what kinds of things they wanted in the new playground facility.
Money for materials has come from small fund-raisers, grants, government agencies and individual donations. The construction is a volunteer effort, scheduled to run through Nov. 4.
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For more information, call the YWCA at 245-5959 or check the site kamalani.org
"We need 4,000 volunteers to make the bridge a reality," said publicist Tiffani Sugai.
Volunteers do not need any expertise. They will be trained for specific projects at the site. Construction tools are welcome, but there are tools available at the site as well. Everyone should wear shoes.
