“We got into this as soon as we knew that we had some grant money,” said Tim Abbey, district buildings and grounds director. “Of course, with the consolidation happening, the intermediate playground was an immediate need. We had all these grade levels coming together.”

The consolidation of all Dunkirk students in grades three through six into the Dunkirk Middle School building led to a desire for an age-appropriate playground, he explained.

“They went with a theme that’s kind of based on American Ninja Warriors. So you won’t see things you’d see on a little kids’ playground…it’s going to be unique to the city and probably the area,” he said.

The fenced-in, lighted playground will be on the Eagle Street lawn, in the portion closest to the building. Trees are set to get planted on the south side. It will include accessibility ramps. The surface fill will be wood fibers specially engineered for playground use.

Submitted photos A new playground is being added to the intermediate school on Eagle Street

Work on the site is scheduled to start in April, though the playground equipment isn’t expected to get delivered until midsummer, Abbey said.

As for the digital signage, it will resemble the sign recently installed at School 7, Abbey said.

“We worked with the same company so these signs will be very similar,” he said. “The School 7 sign does get an upgrade in communication but will basically stay the same.”

Each school building in the district will get a brick-faced, two-sided digital sign out front. Abbey said a lot of work went into figuring out the proper places and viewing angles for the signs, to maximize readability by drivers.

The estimated combined cost of the signs and playground is $800,000. It will get paid for with state Education Department grants, which are funded themselves by federal COVID-19 relief packages.

The Board of Education approved the project Jan. 11.