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Roly Poly Hill OK'd for New Canaan Park

NEW CANAAN, Conn. – Children visiting Irwin Park next spring will have something new to play on, thanks to the New Canaan Garden Club.

A Roly Poly Hill will be placed in the park in a few months, the latest project by the Garden Club to make the park a more fun place for youngsters. The Town Council voted unanimously Wednesday to allow the structure, which will look like a smiling face.

“We’re very happy about that,” said Gillian Foster, co-chairwoman of the Garden Club’s Irwin Park Committee.

The Town Council had to approve the Roly Poly Hill because private funds were being used to improve a town-owned property, Recreation Director Steve Benko said. The town’s Parks and Recreation Commission approved the project months ago. “This was the last (vote) they needed,” Benko said. “The Garden Club came up with ideas to put together simple facilities for the park that younger children could enjoy while their older siblings played in the park.”

The play area will be near a maze that the Garden Club sponsored. “It will be nice,” Benko said.

The Irwin Park Endowment Fund will pay for the project, Foster said. The Garden Club does not have a final cost for the hill project.

The recreation department will also add about 500 feet of walking trails near the park’s entrance off Weed Street after receiving funds for the move approved by the Town Council on Wednesday. Benko said the trail will connect existing walking trails. Visitors to Irwin had already walked along the outer wall before. The Planning and Zoning Commission must still approve the new trail section.

To contact reporter Melvin Mason, email mmason@thedailynewcanaan.com

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