Aurora To Open Parks and Some Playgrounds Today

Apartment residential house facade architecture with kid playground and outdoor facilities. Blue sky on the background. With sun light

With two kids under 5 years old, having playground closed was a tough pill to swallow (especially since other families didn’t really respect the rules, but that’s another post).

With the start of Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois Plan, Auroras Parks Department announced today the opening of many of the outdoor recreation activities around the city, including our beloved playground….well, some of them anyway!

The City of Aurora will reopen parks and some outdoor recreational spaces on Friday, June 26 as the State of Illinois moves into Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois Reopening Plan.
Learn more: https://t.co/semLfFkDVD pic.twitter.com/YpqwelfkGb

— City of Aurora, IL (@CityofAuroraIL) June 25, 2020

Playground and youth recreational equipment at the following parks only: Phillips Park, Garfield Park, Solfisburg Park and McCarty Park. Additional play areas at other parks may open later in Phase 4. City staff will regularly disinfect equipment during open hours of operation.

My first thought was why open just four playgrounds?! Wouldn’t that cause more people to congregate at once? But the answer’s pretty simple. The city will have employees at these parks disinfecting them regularly. I’m not sure they have the manpower to do that for every playground in the city.

Here’s what else is opening in Aurora:

Green spaces at all City parks.
Playground and youth recreational equipment at the following parks only: Phillips Park, Garfield Park, Solfisburg Park and McCarty Park. Additional play areas at other parks may open later in Phase 4. City staff will regularly disinfect equipment during open hours of operation.
The dog park at Phillips Park.
The skate park at Phillips Park.
The sand volleyball courts at Phillips Park.
The tennis courts at Phillips Park and Garfield Park.
The basketball court at Garfield Park.
The softball/baseball fields at the following parks: one field at Phillips Park, one field at Solfisburg Park and one field at Garfield Park. Field usage is limited this year to maintain adequate gathering sizes at each location.

This doesn’t mean that EVERYTHING outdoors is open, however:

After careful review of the state’s guidelines for the reopening of zoos and consulting with health officials, Phillips Park Zoo will remain closed to the public until the State enters into Phase 5 of the Restore Illinois Reopening Plan. However, the path around the zoo’s perimeter is still open and some of the animals are visible from the path. Zoo officials will reposition information signage about the animals along the path and the zoo’s parrot cages will be relocated near the Sunken Garden path for easier viewing. Throughout the summer, zoo officials will host ‘keeper chats’ at safe public locations where families can interact with some of the animals and learn more about animal care and wellness.

Both water parks, splash pads and pavilion rentals will not be activated this season.

It should be noted that this doesn’t apply for every city! Please check with your local parks department for information regarding your hometown.

More information on the Active Aurora reopening plan can be viewed at www.aurora-il.org/ActivateAurora.

It would seem Naperville and Plainfield are going with a more conservative approach according to the answer to a question on their Facebook page:

I’d love to know about other municipalities opening outdoor recreation, let me know so I can add it here! Email me at [email protected]