Shade/water

I agree shade is very important and a water/misting feature would be lovely. What about one of those shade canopies over the play structure? I would love to see a large shade canopy connected to permanent posts that are incorporated into the play structure. For example, a couple posts that get the most sun could have sprayers for a little bit of water play (with run-off toward one of the landscape features?); another post could have a drinking water station; another post could have a garden station with mini gardening tools; that sort of thing.

Overall I like the playground in the center. I would like to see King Park really become a playground and garden for the smallest littles. The center grassy area encouraged older kids to do things like play ball games, which inevitably led to littles being bumped / knocked down, hit with a ball, etc. But, does moving the play structure to the center and changing the landscaping make the overall "playable" space smaller? Have you done any sort of capacity study, whether the park/playground can sustainably accommodate the number of residents who would use it regularly? My subjective observation is there are more young families in Hyattsville now than there were 10 years ago.

Will the landscaping be child-friendly? Have you considered things like pathways through the plantings that could encourage curious kiddos to explore without trampling the landscaping? Or aluminum raised beds for the more fragile flowers? Could there be a designated spot where tiny kids could scratch at the dirt with mini garden tools, maybe somewhere with sturdy shrubs?