New 30-feet tall slide in renovated Derby park sparks concerns. Here’s why
The new playground at Derby’s largest park has led to safety concerns about its 30-foot tall medal slide.
High Park, 2801 E. James St. in the Wichita suburb, reopened on May 29 after undergoing a $4 million renovation that included a new splash pad, pickleball courts and the new playground.
Part of the new playground is a 30-foot tall Hedra Tower structure with an attached tubular medal slide that some parents on Facebook have noted goes faster than expected — especially when wet.
“We absolutely love the new addition to High Park , but that slide mixed with water is a disaster waiting to happen,” one comment read.
“Kids will be kids, but that just sounds super dangerous,” another commenter said.
Some commenters weren’t as worried, with one saying “Kids have been getting hurt at playgrounds since playgrounds were created. Nothing new.”
Robert Mendoza, Derby’s director of public works, said that the city is aware of the speed concern.
“We are onsite, communicating with parents and children. We continue to watch and understand how they are using the slide,” Mendoza said via email.
Mom of three Krystal Sedino told The Eagle that she has been to the park two times and loves the slide but, after seeing multiple kids getting hurt, she is concerned with the lack of padding.
“If you see videos and pictures of all these kids coming out of the slide, it’s really fast, like I have one of my son, and it’s … just a second (of sliding),” Sedino said.
Sedino said she doesn’t want the slide to go away. She thinks that putting extra padding where kids land would alleviate some of her concerns. She said she has specifically noticed children dumping water down the slide, which makes kids slide down faster.
“The kids treat it like a water slide. If they had padding like they do for the water slides, that would be perfect. Something soft that they can just land on instead of like flying across,” Sedino said.
Mendoza said that the city does “ask that patrons refrain from adding water into the slide or other products that will increase their ride speed as it may cause greater risk as they exit the slide.”
Mendoza said that the city is looking at possible solutions to the concerns.
“We are conversing with . . . our playground installer for options to slow the ride, if possible,” he said. “We are also looking at options to alter the landing zone of the riders to stop the sliding that is occurring on the artificial turf.”
Meanwhile, one parent has started a petition asking the city to keep the slide as is, saying that slowing the slide down may “drastically reduce the fun level.”
“My kids love playing on the new slide at Derby High Park. It’s become a favorite spot for our family outings. The laughter and joy it brings to them and many other children in our community are priceless,” the Change.org petition read. “However, there’s been talk about altering this slide, and I’m genuinely worried that if changed, it will be overcorrected and lose its charm and appeal.”
The petition had garnered 132 signatures by late Thursday afternoon.
Mendoza said the slide is designed for children 5 to 12 but has been used by people of all ages, which could be a part of the problem.
“We do encourage parents to be vigilant in determining whether the amenity is right for their children,” Mendoza said.
As of now, the slide is staying open.
“We have no plans to shut this slide down,” Mendoza said.
