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The Village of Lansing Board of Trustees discussed reopening village parks and playgrounds, Monday... or, rather, they talked about keeping them closed for now. Village resident Simon Moll, who is running for retiring Trustee John O'Neil's seat, said that he would like to see the Village err on the side of caution, rather than rushing to open the playgrounds.

"I'd rather see playgrounds remained closed for a little while longer," Moll said. "Having two young kids when we walked around the parks, they never asked to go on the playground structures. They would love to if they could, but it's been three months and another couple of weeks it's going to hurt them. We fly kites, we run around, we walk the trails. And all the other other families I know of are in the same boat. Nobody's said to me that playgrounds must open now."

The two key issues for municipalities when reopening playgrounds are safety and the cost of rigorously cleaning the equipment. At a time when shoppers bring wipes to the grocery store to sanitize shopping cart handles, heavily used playgrounds could bring more danger of infection from COVID-19.

The Town of Lansing is taking a different approach from the Village. The Town kept its parks open throughout the lockdown, but closed its playgrounds (two in Myers Park, and one in Ludlowville Park). Signs were erected in the parks warning visitors to practice social distancing and to wear masks. With Tompkins County now in Stage 3 of the State's four-stage reopening plan, town playgrounds and park bathrooms have been reopened.

Town of Lansing Parks & Recreation Supervisor Patrick Tyrrell said Wednesday, "Playgrounds are open and we are cleaning them following the new Tompkins County Health Department guidelines."  (Click here for details.)

Village parks with playgrounds include Dankert Park and Global Village Park on Uptown Road, and Marian Hartill Park on Northwoods Drive.

All state playgrounds were closed April 1, although parks remained open. The Town and Lansing followed suit, closing its playgrounds but allowing people to continue using the parks. The Village simply closed its parks at that time.

The New York State Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation Department warns New Yorkers to 'recreate locally, practice social distancing, and use common sense to protect themselves and others.' Playgrounds are specifically singled out. "Avoid playground equipment like slides and swings and other frequently touched surfaces," the Department warns.

Village Clerk Jodi Dake said that Village Code Enforcement Officer Michael Scott has been in contact with County Health Department officials who are developing guidelines for reopening playgrounds. She said the Village will use those guidelines when they become available.

"We're being very careful for the kids," said Mayor Donald Hartill.

Hartill reported that new benches will be installed in Village parks soon. The benches are paid for with a $5,000 grant from Tompkins County. He also noted that new signs for some of the Village parks will be installed at around the same time as the benches.

"We're working on the locations of those, and then the park signs will also be installed," Hartill said.

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