Loveland to Remove Aging Playground Equipment at Three Parks in November
The City of Loveland will remove select playground features at three local parks beginning in early November due to age, wear and lack of available replacement parts, officials announced October 30.
The removals are part of the city's broader strategy to manage limited maintenance resources while extending the lifespan of remaining park infrastructure. The work aligns with service reductions implemented throughout 2025 to address a $10.5 million General Fund budget shortfall.
A tire swing will be removed at Centennial Park at 977 West 1st Street. A cloud swing will be removed at Fairgrounds Park at 700 South Railroad Avenue. At North Lake Park at 2750 North Taft Avenue, a small play space containing a swing, climber and spinner will be removed, along with a climber located in another playground area within the park.
All other playground equipment at the three parks will remain accessible during the removal process, according to the city.
Equipment Reaches End of Service Life
The affected features have reached the end of their useful life based on material degradation and safety inspections, according to city officials. Replacement parts for the obsolete models are no longer available or affordable.
Municipal playground equipment typically lasts 15 to 20 years for metal and composite structures with routine maintenance, according to industry standards. Specialized motion-intensive features like tire swings and cloud swings generally last 10 to 15 years, particularly when exposed to heavy use and weather conditions.
Replacement part availability typically diminishes for equipment more than 10 years old, resulting in elevated repair costs due to custom-fabricated components. Annual maintenance costs for aging playground features can reach several hundred dollars per feature, not including staff time for inspections and safety testing.
The cost of removing equipment—typically $500 to $1,000 per feature for labor and disposal—is generally less than repeated attempts to maintain features that can no longer be serviced safely or economically.
Removals Affect Small Portion of City Parks System
Loveland maintains 34 parks and 30 playgrounds throughout the city. The November removals affect a small subset of the total play features across the system, likely less than 2 to 3 percent of citywide equipment.
The removal schedule is weather-dependent but expected to begin in early November.
By removing only features that have reached the end of their useful life, the city aims to redirect maintenance resources toward ensuring safety and extending the service life of remaining playground infrastructure. The selective approach reflects Loveland's asset management strategy of retiring obsolete or unsafe features rather than entire playgrounds.
Budget Pressures Drive Service Reductions
The playground removals are part of citywide service reductions implemented to stabilize Loveland's budget. The city faced a $10.5 million General Fund shortfall in 2025 after losing a major ongoing revenue source in 2024.
Parks and Recreation saw $2.95 million in cuts as part of the anticipated General Fund reductions. Rising costs to maintain municipal infrastructure and services have outpaced available revenue since 2016, even during periods of economic growth.
Loveland depends on sales and use taxes as its largest General Fund revenue source, exposing the budget to economic fluctuations. The approved 2025 budget intentionally reduced spending to align ongoing expenses with available resources, prioritizing essential services like public safety while reducing or deferring functions including some parks maintenance and recreational amenities.
Capital improvement project budgets remain below total identified needs, limiting large-scale equipment or playground replacements to future funding cycles subject to budget availability.
Additional information about Loveland's parks system is available at lovgov.org/parks.