WEST PIKELAND TWP, PA — West Pikeland Township supervisors unanimously advanced two revised playground proposals Monday, Nov. 2, that preserve a memorial sandbox honoring a newborn who died in 2022, reversing earlier plans that prompted public opposition to the Pine Creek Park renovation, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Both proposals retain Cayden’s Corner in its existing location, removing the potential relocation or replacement of the sandbox from the current renovation plans.
The memorial was built by township resident Ryan Leithead after his 7-day-old son, Cayden, died in 2022. Leithead worked with the township to design and install the sandbox, which opened in 2023.
The playground includes a memorial sign displaying a black-and-white photograph of Cayden’s hand alongside those of his parents, Ryan and Denise Leithead.
Earlier renovation proposals contemplated relocating the sandbox, prompting objections from residents who argued that the memorial should remain undisturbed.
At Monday’s supervisors’ meeting, Rick Tralies, a landscape architect with Natural Lands who is consulting on the project, confirmed that the revised plans would preserve the sandbox.
“It will not be touched,” Tralies told the audience, drawing applause from residents, according to The Inquirer.
“Some of the first iterations we did didn’t quite hit the mark,” Tralies acknowledged. “So we went back, and we made revisions.”
The supervisors advanced two alternatives involving different playground equipment manufacturers. Consultants will obtain pricing before the board selects a final design.
The township’s Parks and Recreation Committee is expected to review the proposals Thursday, Nov. 5, and recommend a preferred option.
The committee previously forwarded both alternatives to supervisors without choosing between them.
The broader renovation is supported by approximately $230,000 in grant funding and private donations.
Proposed improvements include new slides and swings, a nature-play area, landscaping and accessibility upgrades.
Tralies described the existing playground as being at the end of its useful life, with the renovation intended to provide a larger, updated recreational facility.
The revised proposals represent a significant change from earlier plans that would have altered the memorial’s location as part of the playground redesign.
Leithead, who serves on the township’s Parks and Recreation Committee, had challenged the consultants’ proposals and pressed officials to reconsider the treatment of Cayden’s Corner.
“After months of battling a conversation that should have never happened, we’re finally preserving [it], so I celebrate that,” Leithead told supervisors, according to The Inquirer.
Despite welcoming the decision to preserve the sandbox, Leithead continued to question the consultants’ approach and advocated for a third design alternative that he believes would better reflect community preferences.
The supervisors’ unanimous vote advances the two revised proposals but does not constitute final approval of the playground renovation.
The remaining decisions include selecting an equipment manufacturer, establishing project costs and determining how the proposed accessibility and landscaping improvements will be incorporated around the existing memorial.
The plans’ commitment to leaving the sandbox untouched addresses the central dispute, although the final design will determine how the memorial sign and surrounding features are accommodated within the renovated playground.
For additional reporting on the community opposition, the revised proposals and the family’s response, read the full article in The Philadelphia Inquirer at https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania/west-pikeland-caydens-corner-20261103.html.
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