Parents rejoice as popular downtown Columbus attraction reopens after two-month delay

Since it opened three years ago, this has been Mickey Shavers’ go-to place in downtown Columbus for her children to enjoy cool — and free — fun in the hot sun.

But mechanical and electrical issues delayed for two months the start of the splash pad’s fourth season, which is scheduled to run every day from April to September, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

No wonder Shavers was a grateful mama as she watched 10-year-old Anthony and 5-year-old Joshua frolic in the fountains Wednesday, the first day folks could enjoy the invigorating spray this year.

“My kids were fighting with each other at home, so I was like, ‘Let’s get out of the house and see if it’s open,’” said Shavers, a midtown Columbus resident who teaches seventh-grade science at Phenix City Intermediate School.

As soon as the splash pad came into view, and they saw the 32 water jets reaching heights of 2-8 feet, the Shavers family cheered in their car.

“It was so exciting,” she said. “…We try to do this like every day in the summer.”

Uptown Columbus, the nonprofit organization that promotes downtown Columbus, owns the splash pad at Woodruff Park and the adjacent Harmony Park playground off Bay Avenue, between 10^th and 11^th streets, overlooking the Chattahoochee Riverwalk.

Shavers likes the convenient combination of recreation options for her sons.

“Whenever they get tired of the water,” she said, “they can go play on the playground or on the grass.”

The splash pad ($600,000), playground ($592,000) and military service memorial ($150,000) were constructed with private funds. More private money pays for the $30,000 to operate the splash pad each year. Another $30,000 from an undisclosed donor paid for the splash pad’s repairs, said Uptown Columbus president Ross Horner.

Although it is privately funded, Horner noted, the splash pad is “probably one of the most-used public amenities in the community.”

Usage figures aren’t available because there is no admission price or turnstile, but the silver lining in the splash pad season’s delayed start is that it gave Horner more evidence of how much it is valued.

Many folks think it’s a city-owned facility, Horner said, so the Columbus Consolidated Government’s 311 citizens service line has received dozens of calls asking when the splash pad would reopen.

“It’s a testament to the way people feel about it,” he said. “… We get more calls from regarding the splash pad than any other thing we do.”

And with two of the city’s four outdoor pools closed for repairs while local schools started summer vacation last week, the splash pad reopening is even more welcomed.

“The timing is good,” Horner said.

Repairs on the splash pad will continue, mostly during off hours, he said, to bring all the features back, such as the water dancing in rhythm with programmed music and lights. Horner, however, didn’t want to wait any longer to reopen the wet wonderland.

“People are drawn to it,” he said. “We turn that thing on and it’s like, ‘Where have these people come from?’ They just converge on it.”

But if you want to relax on Shavers’ favorite super-sized rock at the splash pad, you better be there early.

“We like to get here first thing in the morning,” she said, “so we don’t have to battle all of Columbus for this spot.”

Shavers also likes the splash pad’s friendly atmosphere.

“As many times we’ve come down here,” she said, “I’ve never had to deal with people being disrespectful or anything like that.”

Her only complaint about the splash pad is a suggestion: Install a fence with a gate to keep the little ones from running onto the road.

“Besides that,” she said, “we love it.”

This story was originally published June 1, 2018 at 10:31 AM with the headline "Parents rejoice as popular downtown Columbus attraction reopens after two-month delay."