Design Picked for Monument Park Playground View Full Caption

EDISON PARK — Monument Park, which is also known as Train Park, will be getting a train of its very own — a blue one.

The small park at 6679 N. Avondale Ave. is a favorite with kids in Edison Park for its close-up view of the trains rumbling along Metra's Union Pacific/Northwest Line. It won all new equipment through the park district's Chicago Plays! Playground Renovation program.

After a close vote, residents picked the second of two design options for the park, said Melissa Panizzi of the Edison Park Chamber of Commerce.

The new blue train will replace the sandbox, which is loathed by many parents for being a source of hidden health hazards.

The design features a main play structure with two slides, a bridge, ladders and activity centers.

The existing swing set will remain, with new seats, and the size of the playground will remain the same.

The park's wood chips will be replaced with Fibar, a soft, artificial surface that is designed to reduce injuries.

Chicago Plays!, a program administered by Friends of the Parks, plans to renovate 300 playgrounds throughout the city over the next five years.

Construction is set to start in the spring, and will take four to six weeks, Panizzi said. A date should be selected in the next six weeks, she said.