Worthington Opens New Playground at Wilson Hill Park

The rebuilt playground at Wilson Hill Park, 1025 Ridgedale Drive East, is open. An October update on the City of Worthington's project page says construction is complete and that both the new equipment and the resurfaced tennis courts are ready to use. City Council and the Parks and Recreation Commission gathered at the park at 6 p.m. Monday, October 19, for the ribbon cutting, which the clerk posted as a special meeting with no business items on the agenda.

Council set aside the money in March. Ordinance 04-2026, passed March 2 and in force since March 25, moved up to $350,000 out of the Capital Improvements Fund for the work, filed as Project No. 791-26. The measure lets the city manager sign whatever contracts the project needs, as long as their combined value stays inside that amount. Members then approved the final layout on a unanimous vote May 4, as recorded in the summary the city published for that night.

Residents had a hand in the design. The city lists four ways it collected ideas: a community survey, an open house, online comments, and a visit with students at Wilson Hill Elementary School. The final design file on the project page is a set of vendor renderings with slides, swings, climbing pieces and a shaded seating area, and each sheet carries a note that the drawings are conceptual and the finished products may differ.

Crews started tearing out the old equipment in August. By the September update the former play structure and its safety surface had been hauled away, and the tennis courts had already been repaved and reopened. At that point the city said the playground itself would open only after a required safety inspection. The October post now calls it officially open.

For families around Ridgedale Drive, it means a working neighborhood playground and usable tennis courts again before cold weather sets in, instead of a fenced construction zone. If you have small kids, our Best Outdoor Activities for Toddlers list rounds up other spots where little ones can run around outside. The proposed 20-year comprehensive plan, scheduled for a Council hearing that same night, also calls for an updated parks master plan, as we covered in our hearing preview. More local news lives on the Worthington page.