NEWBERG, Ore. — Parks and Facilities Supervisor Bryan Stewart’s self-described passion project is hitting the ground running with Spring Meadow Park‘s renovation starting in late September. The park is the first in a series of annual park renovations in a recent effort by Chehalem Parks and Recreation District (CPRD) to update aging parks.
Spring Meadow Park, located on Vittoria Way just off 99W in northeast Newberg, is 32 years old, according to Stewart. Over the course of three decades, the developments surrounding the park have grown significantly, said CPRD Superintendent Clay Downing during the CPRD Board of Directors meeting on June 25, 2026, adding that nearly 500 residential units are under construction within a quarter mile of the park at Crestview Crossing Apartments and Spring Meadow Apartments.
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The rise in potential use along with the growth and the age of the playground has warranted an upgrade, Stewart said.
“The district is constantly evaluating playgrounds and structures, and we have a goal of wanting to upgrade and replace all of our older playgrounds with newer equipment as they age,” Stewart said. “So we’re starting with Spring Meadow, and a big contributing factor for that is how the neighborhood has evolved and changed.”
At the May 18, 2026, CPRD Board of Directors meeting, the board approved using $220,000 to resurface Spring Meadow Park with a product called ForeverLawn, which is designed to mimic natural grass and provide a softer, more accessible surface for kids to play on. At the following meeting on June 25, the board approved an additional $400,000 for the purchase and installation of playground equipment for the park, bringing the total to $620,000 for the project.
With construction starting in late September, Stewart hopes the renovations will be completed by spring 2027. The basketball court at Spring Meadow Park is currently closed due to materials staging on the court. Trails in the park will remain open throughout construction.
Landscape Structures Inc. (LSI) is providing the design and structures for the park. According to Stewart at the June 25 meeting, LSI is an industry-leading company for playground equipment.
A main focus of the upgrade is accessibility. Several design features are intended for use by a wide range of ages and abilities, such as the ForeverLawn, which differs from artificial turf in that it is padded underneath and drains through the padding, allowing for year-round play even in rainy conditions.
The ForeverLawn will sit flush with the surrounding grass and allow better access to the park for those using canes, wheelchairs or other mobility devices.
“To enable one senior citizen or one child that opportunity that they were never afforded before to enjoy the playground and the structures themselves—it’s priceless,” Stewart said.
One of Stewart’s favorite new features is the We-Go-Round, an upgraded merry-go-round with a roof for shade and spaces for two wheelchairs and six additional kids to sit or stand. There will also be a swing that allows riders to lie horizontally, allowing access for children who might not be able to use a traditional swing.
Another feature will add shade shelters around the park. Plans include four shaded benches and four of what Ricker calls “minimalist canopies” covering the play structures.
“So many individual apparatuses we have there are designed for cognitive play, for sensory play, physical play, for every child and every adult,” Stewart said. “A lot of thought went into everybody’s inclusiveness and enjoyment, and we’re really excited about that.”
A Capital Projects Information Open House hosted by CPRD in November 2025 provided the catalyst for the park renovations and Spring Meadow’s selection as the first park in line, according to CPRD Public Information Director Kat Ricker.
“We gathered information from both the survey and the open house to feed directly into this process,” Ricker said. “That was when Bryan [Stewart] first opened up the public discussion with people about what they might want to see Spring Meadow Park look like, and he introduced some of these new forward-thinking, inclusive, and accessible emphases.”
In CPRD’s 2025 Community Input Survey, 65.34% of 669 respondents reported that they are familiar with and use playgrounds maintained by CPRD. Of 635 respondents, 88.03% said playgrounds are either very important or somewhat important to them.
Several respondents mentioned outdated playgrounds and equipment repairs in open-ended responses. Asked what one thing CPRD could improve at a park, 41 of 441 respondents, or 9%, cited updating or improving playgrounds, with two specifically mentioning Spring Meadow Park.
“We’re revisiting our playgrounds here, and the public is very happy about that,” Stewart said. “We hope to accomplish — it would be a mighty high lift to do — one or two parks a year.”
According to Stewart, more than three-quarters of CPRD’s 21 parks are over 20 years old. College Park, Scott Leavitt Park and Jaquith Park are high priorities for the district’s next renovation projects in the coming years.
