FARMERS BRANCH, Texas — A newly-opened glow-in-the-dark playground in Farmers Branch is temporarily closing as the city works on repairing damaged equipment and addressing the "direct effect" the playground has had on the surrounding park and neighborhood, officials said.
The Joya playground, which opened Jan. 20 at Oran Good park, will shut down from March 1 to March 10, according to a city news release.
The city plans to put up a temporary fence around the playground starting on Feb. 29 and take the fence down on the morning of March 11.
During the closure, officials said crews will work on repairs to the playground and "re-assess" issues involving safety, parking, and staffing at the playground.
City officials called the playground "an enormous success" but noted that its popularity "has had a direct effect on the equipment and the neighborhood surrounding the park."
"As most Farmers Branch residents know, the new glow-in-the-dark facility has attracted an astounding crowd from the day it opened," the release said. "Joya continues to attract many guests almost every afternoon and evening, sometimes hundreds of people at once. Few playgrounds are designed to accommodate this many people daily."
The rest of Oran Good Park will remain open during the playground's closure.
Families could be seen enjoying the park on Tuesday afternoon. Robert Diaz, the city's Parks and Recreation Director, told WFAA that too many people were parking along the road adjacent to the park, clogging traffic and creating a potentially dangerous situation for families.
Children and their guardians are parking and crossing the road to get to the park.
'No parking' signs were placed in that area, and the city is asking folks to use the designated parking lots on the other side of the park.
Some parents have had issues with the park being too crowded at night, saying it's a safety issue--Diaz says it plans to have staffing at the park during peak hours when it reopens to monitor crowds.
The city also asked that adults not use the equipment, saying some of it had been damaged due to use.
The 18,000-square-foot playground at Oran Good Park, called Joya (meaning ‘jewel’ in Spanish), has interactive features that glow.
The play space includes a main playground area and a fenced-in tot play area. The playground features a 27-foot sphere that children can climb inside, a zip line, a spin zone, glow seating, swings, and an obstacle course - all lit with colorful LED lighting.
Construction on the playground began in June after it was approved in November 2021. It was funded through $4 million from the Federal American Rescue Plan Act, $750,000 from a Texas Parks and Wildlife grant, and $750,000 from a city matching fund, according to its website.