{"id":872365,"date":"2026-10-06T04:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T04:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/872365\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T04:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T04:00:12","slug":"neighbors-show-concern-with-citys-tree-removal-plan-near-kids-kingdom-playground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/872365\/","title":{"rendered":"Neighbors show concern with city’s tree removal plan near Kids Kingdom playground"},"content":{"rendered":"

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WSBT) \u2014 The sounds of chainsaws and woodchippers are echoing in Potawatomi Park.<\/p>\n

Crews were on site to remove trees near the Kids Kingdom, a playground with a long history.<\/p>\n

Neighbors are concerned and say those trees are a part of what makes the playground special.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt totally breaks my heart,” said Pat McKelvey , Concerned Neighbor.<\/p>\n

Kids Kingdom will soon have 10 fewer trees on the north side of the playground. It’s all part of the River Park Plan for additional parking. It is a big need for the community, according to the district’s councilwoman.<\/p>\n

Neighbors are concerned and say those trees are a part of what makes the playground special. However, they are seeing trees coming down right next to Kids’ Kingdom, a playground with a long history. (WSBT video)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, we have over 450,000. So, people that come and visit our zoo, which is a great space and it’s steadily growing. And I know that IUSB is also growing,\u201d said Sharon McBride. \u201cSo, we’re anticipating that we’re gonna have the city of South Bend grow in that area.”<\/p>\n

But not everyone is on board with the plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m not an anti-progress person. I’m a let’s do things the best way person. And this wasn’t the best way,” said Pat McKelvey, Concerned Neighbor.<\/p>\n

\"{p}Neighbors<\/p>\n

Neighbors are concerned and say those trees are a part of what makes the playground special. However, they are seeing trees coming down right next to Kids’ Kingdom, a playground with a long history. (WSBT photo)<\/p>\n

McKelvey says the trees are more than just part of the landscape; They provide shade for a playground that was built by the community.<\/p>\n

He was the volunteer coordinator when the playground was built and says the trees were a factor in why it was built in this location.<\/p>\n

Without the trees, his concerns are showing up, such as parking being too close to the playground and the slides getting too hot from the sun.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd my fear is that soon as someone burns themselves, they’re going to say, Oh, well kids are getting hurt on Kids Kingdom, and go back to their original plan, which was to tear Kids Kingdom down,” said McKelvey .<\/p>\n

Now, according to the city, there is no plan to alter or tear down the playground at this time.<\/p>\n

\"{p}Neighbors<\/p>\n

Neighbors are concerned and say those trees are a part of what makes the playground special. However, they are seeing trees coming down right next to Kids’ Kingdom, a playground with a long history. (WSBT photo)<\/p>\n

But McKelvey says this cannot happen because it’s a special place to many in the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey forgot the history. The 5,000 people that came out here, the kids that helped build it, that bring their kids here now. It was the largest gift ever given to the city by the citizens of South Bend, Indiana,” said McKelvery.<\/p>\n

According to the City of South Bend, several of the trees slated for removal were identified as diseased and in need of replacement.<\/p>\n

They will also be planting 33 trees for the 10 that were taken down, but McKelvey says it’s not the same because it will take years for them to grow.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re not replacing them. They’re substituting, and it’s not a fair substitute,” said McKelvey.<\/p>\n

McKelvey says neighbors will continue to fight to make sure the playground will stick around.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WSBT) \u2014 The sounds of chainsaws and woodchippers are echoing in Potawatomi Park. Crews were…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":872366,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-872365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=872365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/872366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=872365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=872365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=872365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}