How you can help reimagine and redesign ‘Dragon Park’ | Hamer

Not long ago I took my 6-year-old granddaughter to Deane’s Children’s Park, affectionately known as “Dragon Park.” She likes to play there, especially on the swings and iconic dragon.

But when she had to use the restroom, which is just off Island Crest Way near the parking lot, she opened the door and said: “Grampy, I can’t go there. It’s gross.” She was right: The small restroom was disgusting and unusable.

But at least I was able to take her to Dragon Park. Not so my 8-year-old grandson Ford, who is disabled and in a wheelchair. For him, the playground is essentially useless. He can’t access the play structures, which lack ramps or railings. The narrow paths are full of roots and rocks. Bark chips or gravel, which don’t work well for wheelchairs, cover much of the ground. Big timber beams surround the play areas. They can be hazardous for aging grandparents like me: I’ve almost tripped more than once.

In fact, all of Deane’s Children’s Park needs a complete makeover. And you can help, whether you’re a parent, grandparent, caretaker — or a kid who loves this iconic playground.

The city’s Public Works department, to its credit, is inviting public input on a new site plan for Dragon Park. The playground equipment is outdated and doesn’t meet ADA standards. The picnic shelter and restroom need to be replaced.

Mercerdale “Train” Park was renovated three years ago and is now one of the busiest on the island. It has soft surfaces, wide paths, wheelchair ramps, handrails, and a mix of structures suitable for those of different abilities. It’s safe for seniors like me, too.

City voters also passed a Parks Levy in 2022 by a wide margin and provided funds for renovations of all our island’s playgrounds over the next 15 years. The city is currently renovating Roanoke and First Hill Parks, with a goal of making them as accessible and inclusive as possible. But Dragon Park is much larger with greater challenges. So the city’s excellent design team, led by Shelby Perrault, Kellye Hilde and Jason Kintner, is seeking extensive public engagement.

What can you do?

Complete an online survey at www.mercerisland.gov/dcpg and weigh in. The “Let’s Talk” survey is open until May 12, and will be followed by a second survey later.

Attend a family-friendly “open house” from 10 a.m. to noon on May 3 at Island Park Elementary School. City staff will be there to answer questions, hear suggestions, and share more details. Bring your kids so they can weigh in.

The city and its design consultant, Berger Partnership, will develop alternatives and make them public in July for further feedback. The Parks Commission will then review the plans and advise the City Council, which will vote on final approval in September. Construction will begin in 2026.

However, the city’s levy funds are earmarked for universal playground equipment. Amenities such as the picnic shelter, restroom, storage shed, pathways and benches will require additional funding. The total budget is yet to be determined, depending on the final site plan.

A coalition of organizations has formed “Friends of Dragon Park”(FoDP) to help the city with public awareness, design, marketing, and fund-raising. It includes (so far) the Mercer Island Preschool Association, Rotary Club of Mercer Island, Friendship Circle, Moms4SafeMI, and the Mercer Island Chinese Association. Mayor Salim Nice, plus City Council and Parks Commission members, have endorsed our coalition. Want to help? Email friendsofdragonpark@gmail.com and/or join our Friends of Dragon Park Facebook group.

We will be reaching out to businesses, nonprofits, other organizations, and individual citizens in the months ahead. If you have ideas for the site design, play structures, communications or fund-raising, we’d love to hear from you. And if you’d like to make a donation, let us know. We are setting up a system for easy online tax-deductible donations.

We’re considering several fun ideas, including a “Feed the Dragon” fund-raiser at the site, dragon t-shirts, hats, stickers and tattoos, a dragon art auction, and a Chinese “Dragon Dance.” We may have a movie night and show “How To Train Your Dragon.” We’ll invite corporate, foundation, and individual donations at various levels. Major donors will be prominently acknowledged at the site with names and logos. Individual and family donors will also be permanently named at the playground.

Here’s another idea: “Kenton’s Dragon” is the current name of the scale-covered sculpture. It’s named after Kenton Pies, who designed the icon. He is now deceased. Time for a new name?

The honorary co-chairs of our coalition are Lola Deane, who helped create the original park in the 1960s, and my grandson Ford Parks, who is in a wheelchair due to a rare genetic disorder.

I asked Lola if we might name the dragon after her. “Absolutely not!” she said. “Puff” is probably out as well.

But it will always be Deane’s Children’s Park, so how about “Deanie”? Any better ideas? Suggestions welcome!

John Hamer (jhamer46@gmail.com) is a former editorial writer/columnist for The Seattle Times. He has lived on Mercer Island for 25 years with his wife, Mariana Parks. They have four grandchildren who all love the island’s parks and playgrounds.