5 Things to Know About the Bouncy New Surface at the Municipal Park Playground

If you spent any time this past weekend at the Rochester Municipal Park you might have noticed one of the playgrounds has a new bounce to it.

The City of Rochester has installed Terrasoft pour-in-place rubber safety surface material at the dinosaur playground on the pond-end of the park.

We asked Rochester City Manager Jaymes Vettraino about the new surface. Here are his answers to Five Things to Know:

1. What was the inspiration for the Terrasoft surface? "This project was reviewed with City Council during their Goals and Objects and it was approved as a project for this year," Vettraino said. "This surface has been used at other parks in our area, so that is where we started to think about it for our park."
2. How was it paid for? "The project was paid for with federal funds through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program," Vettraino said. "This surface will help with ADA accessibility for our park and is an acceptable use for those funds."
3. Will more Terrasoft be added to other playground sections at the park? "The project is a test project for the City, if the product is successful, City Council may choose to allocate future City funds or CDBG funds for other playgrounds," Vettraino said.
4. What are the benefits of the Terrasoft? "Some of the benefits of using this material are that its maintenance free, environmentally friendly and very durable," Vettraino said. "The product also meets all national safety standards regarding critical fall height requirements. Additionally, the solid and seamless material provides a clean and sanitary surface that reduces the risk of injuries."
5. And finally, what every mom wants to know, is there any way to clean the Terrasoft surface? "The City anticipates just spraying it down with water to wash down surface derby and spills," Vettraino said.