White Buffalo Park

White Buffalo Park in Willow Springs, IL is adjacent to Pleasantdale Elementary School and serves as the school’s primary recess area. Collaboration between the design team, Pleasant Dale Park District, and local residents was key during this $500K improvement project.

As the civil engineering consultant to PRI, Eriksson Engineering Associates, Ltd. (EEA) provided the following on-site services:

• Stormwater management detention calculations, exhibits report, and completed applications
• Pavements, walkways, and site concrete finish work
• Finished grading with spot elevations and contours
• Storm sewer design
• Stormwater facilities design, including both volume control and runoff control

The playground is accessed from the elementary school parking lot with trees leading to the open-air shelter, picnic tables, and drinking fountain. The site design embraces the historic Illinois & Michigan (I&M) Canal theme through both the play area surfacing and play equipment.

EEA was involved with the grading and drainage for the rubberized surface of the playground for children ages 2-5 and 5-12. The surface includes a blue “canal” stream flowing through green and beige “land” areas and includes mounds to mimic the canal edges. The area to the south of the playground serves as stormwater detention and offers excellent biodiversity in the park site.