HARFORD COUNTY, Md. — Seven-year-old Aria Rodriguez loves coming to Annie's Playground.
"I like it a lot cause my soccer practice is also here," she said.
She told WMAR 2 News her favorite thing is the tall green slide.
VIDEO: Parents shocked Annie's Playground is closed
But Paul Magness, Director with Harford County Parks and Recreation, said there'll be no sliding or swinging at the playground anytime soon.
He told WMAR 2 News that workers found safety issues during a routine checkup on the equipment.
"They noticed some stress fractures in some of the pieces. And so to make sure there are no larger issues we wanted to make sure to contact—we decided to close the playground down," he said.
The news came as a shock to Aria's dad, Alfredo, who was hoping to take advantage of Monday's sunny weather.
"It's very upsetting. We come here about once a week when the weather's nice, and the weather is nice now, so it's kind of sad that we're not out here," he said.
Savannah Dietz told WMAR 2 News she's been coming to the playground since she was a kid, saying she's confused by the closure.
"Well, I feel like we just opened not too long ago because they completely renovated it, and now we're closed up again, and spring's coming, the weather is getting nice, and now we gotta find somewhere else to go."
That renovation from 2022 to 2023 took Annie's Playground from a wooden structure to what is there now to make it more durable.
So how could we already see structural issues?
Magness said they're working with the playground's manufacturer, Play By Design, to figure that out but tells parents not to worry.
"Because within each of the structures that we're talking about, we also have fiberglass rebar, so there is a structural support there."
Savannah said she'll find another playground for her child, but she's ready and waiting for Annie's to reopen.
"There's definitely options from here to Perry Hall, plus, I mean, there's normally parks everywhere, but this one by far, I think, is one of the best."
Magness said they don't know when they can reopen, but they're working with Play By Design to make the playground completely safe as soon as possible.
I reached out to the manufacturer, asking how stress fractures could appear on the playground equipment so soon.
But at the time of publication, I haven't heard back.
