Switchyard Park's spray pad opened Tuesday, making it the sole public aquatics facility functioning in Bloomington this summer due to ongoing concerns about the coronavirus.
Park Manager Hsiung Marler said the city had to submit a list of COVID-related health and safety precautions to the Monroe County Health Department as part of the opening process.
These precautions include limiting bather capacity to 50, one quarter of the original user capacity, temporarily contructing a single point of entry and exit to the area and having a Parks Department staffer on hand to ensure social distancing and capacity guidelines are being followed.
Marler said part of the reasoning behind opening the spray pad was ensuring that the community had some sort of aquatics facility in which to cool off this summer.
"If it can't be the pool, it can at least be the spray pad," Marler said, noting that the Karst Farms splash pad as well as Bryan Park and Mills city pools are closed due to concerns about the pandemic.
READ MORE: Bloomington's Outdoor Pools To Remain Closed For Season
"It's easer to open a spray pad than a pool," he said.
The Switchyard Park spray pad is open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and includes 90 nozzles and misters through which 3,500 gallons of recycled, filtered water are pushed.
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