Popular Playground In Bel Air Closes Sept. 12 For Three Months For Renovations

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — The Lyn Stacie Getz playground in Bel Air will close Sept. 12 and remain closed for approximately three months while it undergoes renovations.

According to the Harford County Department of Parks and Recreation, the renovation project involves removing the old pressure-treated wooden playground in the section for 5- to 12-year-olds and installing a new custom creative playground for the same age group. Since large pieces of machinery will be used to remove and install large playground pieces, the entire playground will be closed.

The new section will include a treehouse, slides, bridges, different types of swings and a poured rubber surface, among other items, and will be made ADA accessible. This playground, located by the metal giraffe sculpture off the intersection of Route 24 and West Ring Factory Road, was built in 2001. The county worked on the project with members of the Getz family, who helped fund the original playground through the Lyn Stacie Getz Foundation. The foundation was created in memory of Getz, who died in 1999, to contribute to charities that involve children.

Memorials to Getz and Paula Ann Carven, who along with her 9-year-old son died in 1996 when TWA Flight 800 exploded over Long Island, will be temporarily removed in order to keep them safe during construction, They will be returned to the site when the project is complete.

Memory placards on benches and other dedicated items honoring groups and individuals will also be removed temporarily and returned after construction, too, according to the Harford County Department of Parks and Recreation.