Utica’s Debuts New Custom Designed Playground at T.R. Proctor Park

The city of Utica has cut the ribbon on a brand new, state of the art, and custom designed playground at one of its most well known parks.

The new and larger setup can be found at the West end of T.R. Proctor Park, that sits along Culver Ave. and Welsh Bush Road. It includes many of the typical features found in a children's play park (embedded photos), like swings, slides, bridges and ramps.

Mayor Robert Palmieri was joined by city officials to show-off the fully accessible playground at an public ceremony on Tuesday. It was custom designed by BCI Burke Company just of Utica, Palmieri said, and was paid for with funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and from Community Development Block Grant money.

The city has the third largest park system in all of New York State, Palmieri said, and hopes it will one day also be the 'best' in all of New York. "With our recent investments, including this beautiful play area, Utica will be more fun, more sustainable and more enjoyable for people from all over. I ask the residents to help us get the most out of these improvements by using all equipment properly and with care.”

The unveiling is the latest in the city's effort to focus on enhancement its parks and are among several new additions to the adjacent T.R. Proctor and F.T. Proctor parks. Other improvements include:

The previous playground and accessories that have now been replaced will be dismantled by the city, officials said in a release highlighting the upgrades.