It’s sad, but it’s true.
The rocket slide at Ben Hawes has been removed because it no longer meets current playground equipment safety standards, according to Owensboro Parks and Recreation Director, Amanda Rogers.
“We held off as long as we could, but there are lots of standards for playground equipment and it gets tougher every year,” Rogers said. “It’s never our intent to remove equipment, but safety is our priority.”
The cost to replace the slide was just not feasible. Plus, there’s new equipment at the playground at Ben Hawes anyway.
The City has a certified playground inspector that periodically checks equipment in every playground.
Ownership of the park has changed hands between city and state a couple times, so Rogers said they could not find a record of exactly how old the rocket slide was, but readers have told us the slide was around 50 years old.
Rogers also said that because of public outcry, the City plans to auction the slide off in the annual surplus auction at the Sportscenter, which is usually in late April or May.
