Like Sox fans, kids who used to play at the Millennium Park playground will have to wait'll next year

Replacing the playground at Millennium Park in West Roxbury was always going to take longer than similar jobs elsewhere because it sits atop a former landfill, which meant the new walkways and concrete pads for equipment would have to have time to settle first, but even with that, plans called for kids to be playing this summer.

Boston Parks and Recreation, however, was not counting on European floods to hold up replacement of the original playground, installed before the park opened around the turn of the millennium, which will be named the Alice Hennessey Playground when done. In a recent update, the department reports:

The past year there has been a huge demand on materials in all industries. Covid has been one issue, but extreme flooding and transportation issues throughout Europe (which is where our play equipment is coming from) have resulted in even tougher logistical challenges.

The city says the manufacturer is now saying it hopes to ship the equipment to Boston in December, which might make installation difficult due to the sort of weather we tend to have in the winter here.

The new playground is part of a $3.4 million upgrade to the park, which also includes repaving driveways and walking paths throughout the park, which has already started and which will continue through next year. Still under consideration: Replacing the current seasonal portable toilets at the top of the park with a permanent restroom facility.