Popular Chesapeake Sensory Plaza, Other Town Parks Open In Bel Air For The Summer

BEL AIR, MD — The popular Chesapeake Sensory Plaza at the Rockfield Park playground in Bel Air has opened for the summer.

The water feature, first unveiled in 2020, includes a hand pump and fountain at the top of a 60-foot-long channel system designed to resemble a watershed. Children are able to turn blocks within the channels to redirect the flow of water.

A sign posted near the fountain shows a map of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and includes facts about the Bay, the nation’s largest estuary.

All parks in Bel Air – except for the playground in Shamrock Park that is under renovation – opened Memorial Day weekend.

Homestead Park off MacPhail Road has closed for three months. The project involves upgrading and relocating the playground, upgrading all park facilities so they are accessible to people with disabilities, building a nine-space parking lot so users are not limited to parking on the shoulder of MacPhail, plus replacing the multi-purpose court with pickleball courts.

Work on the playground in Shamrock Park, which closed May 10 for renovations, continues to move forward. The project includes installing additional playground equipment which children with disabilities can use, a new play surface and construction of a path between Pennsylvania Avenue and Lee Way. Construction of the pathway should be done by June 5 followed by the play surface. Town officials anticipate the project will be done by June 10, weather permitting.