From Mayor Joe Ganim:
Mayor Ganim announces that five splash pads throughout the City of Bridgeport will open to Bridgeport residents on July 30th, 2020. In collaboration with the Health Department, the Parks Department will facilitate the partial reopening of this summer city amenity to keep residents cool during high temperatures. COVID-19 safety protocol as recommended by the CDC and state guidelines must be followed and will be provided by on-site staff and signage.
Mayor Ganim stated, “We’ve been pushing to reopen at least one splash pad location at each end of the City. Along with the distribution of water bottles to pedestrians and our homeless population, these efforts will provide residents the opportunity to cool off, stay hydrated, remain vigilant against the spread of COVID, and have a little fun with the kids.”
Five splash pads locations, open to public daily from 10am–6pm:
Beardsley Park Splash Pad, 1875 Noble Avenue (Upper East Side)
Newfield-Jessup Park Splash Pad, 104 Eagle Street (East End)
Puglio Park Splash Pad, 3531 Madison Avenue (North End)
Seaside Park Splash Pad, West Beach, 1 Barnum Dyke (South End)
Went Field Splash Pad, 401 Hanover Street (West Side)For more information, visit bridgeportct.gov/SplashPads
— Face covering not required in Splash Pad
— Interval of 20 minutes or less in water
— Adult visitors required to wear face coverings and maintain 6ft distance in designated area
— Use hand sanitizer when entering and leaving splash pad
— Properly dispose of face coverings in the garbage
So now we want to have children all splashing around in the same puddles in the middle of a pandemic? What’s with these splash pads? Like are we living in Kenya? Don’t all people have a shower at home that they can use to cool off and clean up ? This seems fairly risky to me. You can catch a lot of illnesses through your feet.
Your comment has a racial overtone to out, why did use a country from Europe?
I guess I know where you are coming from when even Angel Food Cake or Devil’s Food cake might have “racial overtones”. But that being said, I used Kenya as an example instead of Europe because Europeans always tended to be more private and unseen in taking care of their physical needs, other than in Roman times when people went to public bath houses, where they too, often caught diseases.
PavlickInTheNorthend, this Bud is for you.
https://www.ispot.tv/ad/Zpg1/tide-power-pods-questions
FACTS: The heat and humidity indicate that we have been in fairly uncomfortable daily environment on top of all of the living concerns and cautions about COVID 19. We have been learning that the youth group that includes those age 10 and under has had a low transmission history relative to older groups.
In past summers, even with the advent of splash pads relief for kids included attention from the Fire Dept with opening of hydrants at times. But the installation of pads in housing locations and parks lets the youngest have some freedom while cooling off and require no special attention from the adults other than social distancing and masks.
QUESTIONS:: Why did this wait so long? Are all splash pads functional at this time? Were splash pads at Park City Community properties included for consideration? How many pads are there in the City?
Swimming is a necessary skill in my opinion for all folks, and invaluable at others, when the saving of a life is at hand. What programs available to youth through age 21 to provide lessons for those up to 18 or 21 is offered at this time, or has been in the past? Time will tell.
JML, PavlickInTheNorthend asked, “What’s with these splash pads? Like are we living in Kenya? Don’t all people have a shower at home that they can use to cool off and clean up ?” Well, I guess City residents don’t have to pay for water where they reside and the kids can stand in place and in the their shower all day playing. and of course PavlickInTheNorthend knows that all homes do have showers. Of course we can go back to the old days as far back as to the 1920’s where neighborhoods slash pads were to open illegally fire hydrants thereby hurting firefighters in fighting a fire with low water pressure.
I did social work for many years and I have yet to see even low income public housing units that do NOT have showers, as well as rooming houses. And it doesn’t cost the residents a penny to use them because it’s included in their rental fees. THEY don’t get individual water and sewer bills LIKE THE REST OF US DO !
Of course, those same units also have toilets. But that doesn’t seem to keep SOME from using the elevators as toilets instead.
When did public housing get into the subject about slash pads? Children play in the mud like those two boys in the commercial, those kids were having a lot of fun and their parents were happy watching them play in the mud. I wonder where they got the idea from.
Mr Lee says: “We have been learning that the youth group that includes those age 10 and under has had a low transmission history relative to older groups.”
If that’s true, then why all of the hullabaloo about sending them back to school in September ?
Ron,
You weren’t looking for a response from me really, were you? I read what he wrote and did not consider that it indicated sufficient care about plain community kids, in a City enduring a long pandemic, with minimal family resources. I have been to Kenya, Uganda and a couple of other places to build and give functioning playgrounds to these communities for the benefit of some joy in the lives of folks who have less than many poor in Bridgeport.
Using community watering opportunities in the hottest weather is a blessing to the families, and at what community expense, once the “pads” have been installed. So why limit the openings? What is the full story on the pads, Ganim2? Time will tell.