Loring Park residents and Minneapolis officials will gather later this month to discuss the removal and replacement of a playground along the Loring Greenway.

A community meeting is scheduled for Jan. 30 at 6:30 p.m. in the One Ten Grant’s party room at 110 W. Grant St., near the playground site. Ward 7 Councilmember Katie Cashman and project manager David Bauer are expected to attend, but Public Works Director Tim Sexton is unavailable.

The playground was disassembled without public notice – or a replacement plan – in November after an inspector determined it was unsafe in September. It was originally built in 2003 using $60,000 in Neighborhood Revitalization Project funds.

“The removal has left a noticeable gap in the area, particularly for families who relied on the space as a safe, central area for children to play,” Citizens for a Loring Park Community said in its Jan. 2 newsletter.

More than 110 people have signed an online petition calling for a replacement playground on the Loring Greenway.

Constituents have reached out to Cashman, whose ward contains the greenway, to see if she can help. She and three Loring Greenway Association representatives met Dec. 20 with Public Works officials and organized the Jan. 30 community meeting.

Public Works doesn’t have the funding to replace the playground, so other sources would need to be identified, according to Cashman.