CLEARWATER — Astra Dialinakis used to walk her 2-year-old daughter, Fotini, to the Country Hollow Park playground almost every day.
But on a recent morning, they were greeted by a wrecking crew in the midst of taking down the youngster's favorite swing set.
Dialinakis consoled the teary toddler, telling her the city would build a new one.
Not true.
The small playground was coming down for good.
And as more playgrounds in Clearwater age, they will follow.
"I had to lie to her and say we'll get another one," said Dialinakis, 31. "With the little vocabulary she knew, she tried to tell her dad that they took away the swings. It was devastating."
Now the family drives to a playground behind the Countryside branch library. But that, too, is set to close.
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