News

Council Approved Playground Purchase

October 13, 2026

City Council approved purchase request for Normandale Park Playground Equipment on October 6th.

Community engagement for the project was conducted through the Better Together Edina site, which included two surveys and resident feedback. The first survey gathered 114 responses to gauge user preferences, and the results informed a request for proposal (RFP) from vendors. Popular features identified included swings, slides, climbing elements, and monkey bars, which were incorporated into design proposals. Seven vendors responded to the RFP with their designs.

Staff evaluated the submissions based on city goals and features identified in the initial survey. A second survey was conducted with three vendor designs being ranked to determine the preferred design and color preferences. Based on 188 responses to the second survey, staff recommended Minnesota Playground (MWP Recreation) as the winning designer, incorporating Gametime equipment. The selected design complies with modern guidelines and ADA standards, with a color scheme of spring green, burgundy, and beige.

Normandale Park Playground Layout

The playground is organized into clearly defined but visually connected play zones. The ages 2-5 area includes a compact structure with a slide, climbers, interactive panels, accessible transfer features, and nature themed components scaled for younger children. The ages 5-12 area provides larger linked structure with multiple decks, slides, overhead and net climbers, bridges, rock and vine climbing elements, activity panels, and accessible transfer routes. Freestanding features, including a spinning climber, duo spinner, tent climber, and swings- are distributed throughout the site to support different types of movement and reduce congestion. Safety zones, wear mats, engineered wood fiber, and poured-in-place accessible surfacing are integrated into the layout, while existing trees provide natural character and help connect the playground to its park setting.