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Rehoboth Beach’s Lake Gerar Tot Lot removed

Deemed unsafe and out of date by city; new, inclusive playground coming later this year
Rehoboth Beach removed the Lake Gerar Tot Lot playground equipment recently. The city plans to replace it with handicap-accessible elements, and work is expected to take place later this year. Shown is mom Laura Yeager with her kids Remy Yeager, 3, and Luca Yeager, 5. Their plan was to play on the playground while Dad packed up before the family headed back to Pennsylvania. CHRIS FLOOD PHOTOS
Chris Flood
June 18, 2021

Story Location:
Lake Gerar Tot Lot
Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971
United States

The Lake Gerar Tot Lot in Rehoboth Beach has been demolished. A crew from Clayton-based Byler Builders was on site the morning of June 17 and made quick work of the aging structure.

Built approximately 30 years ago, the tot lot was the oldest playground in the city. It is located on the north side of the freshwater lake and surrounded by Japanese black pines. 

The poor condition and proposed removal of the tot lot were brought up by Liz Lingo, city arborist, during budget discussions in January 2020. At the time, she said the playground was well beyond its expected life span and there was structural rust on the equipment. In its place, she recommended an inclusive playground. Commissioners earmarked $100,000 of last year’s budget toward a new playground, but then COVID-19 hit, shutting down all playgrounds, and no further progress was made.

A few months ago, during this year’s budget talks, commissioners agreed to spend $275,000 for a playground that includes play elements for kids in wheelchairs; those plans would require removing a couple of trees. That price also includes new fencing, a new walkway to the playground, and landscaping. 

In an email June 15, Lynne Coan, city spokesperson, said the city is waiting for new playground equipment from the manufacturer and anticipates installing it by the end of the year.

It’s easier to take out fence posts when you’re working with a skid steer that has a mechanical post puller attached. However, as this picture shows, it still takes a bit of extra leverage to get some of the posts to give.
Sections of the old fence that surrounded the playground are put into the trash dumpster.
A balance beam rests on a tree branch while waiting its turn for a free ride in the bucket of a skid steer.
The construction crew saved the playground’s swing set, but a couple of the seats are waiting to be picked up.
It may not happen before the end of summer, but Rehoboth will be replacing the Lake Gerar Tot Lot, which was the city’s oldest.
After nearly three decades of service, a section of the slide heads to the scrap bin.

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Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.

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