A True Neighborhood Playground

One of the most encouraging movements in the playground design profession is the current wave of support for creating truly accessible play areas. Designs are now being implemented that enable children of all abilities to participate in exciting playground activity. The predominate reason for the increased awareness of accessibility issues can be traced to parents across the country who have become advocates for their own children's rights. These parents have spearheaded the idea that all children deserve to be included in the design of playgrounds and play equipment.

Recently, the Antelope Park in Lincoln, Neb., was renovated in order to provide greater accessibility. "I've got a child with a disability, and I knew from experience that the playground could be better," said teacher Brent Toalson, project coordinator for the renovation. In order to make improvements that could lead to accessibility, the community pulled together to raise the necessary funds. "I got a call from Brent and he told me about his own child," said Larry Group, a Landscape Architect for the Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department. "We brainstormed and got other agencies involved, and set off on a campaign to raise the $500,000 needed for this playground."

Centrally located, the park is under an acre in size and contains play equipment manufactured by Miracle Recreation. The upcoming second phase of the renovation will include a discovery area containing architectural artifacts.

Numerous fundraising activities were planned by the different entities involved. Neighborhood schools became actively involved in raising the money. Lincoln Southeast High School Student Council got involved in the project along with various corporations. One local elementary school alone raised $1,500 for the park. "We had $100,000 in our budget originally and then our council kicked in another $60,000, and the rest came from fundraising," Group said.

For Group, perhaps more important than the actual playground itself, was watching the process by which the project came to life. "Of course, it's always nice to see your design built, but for me, the greatest reward was working with all the high school and grade school kids, and watching their effort to help design and build the project," Group said. "They helped move the matting around and helped clean up. I know that there was a lot of change in those kids lives, both professionally by raising money and talking to corporate heads, and also personally. That was a heck of an experience for them."

The renovation began by taking out the previous playground and starting from scratch. One of the improvements made to the design was that there is now a separate area for children under five. In addition, the new site is constructed around rubber tiles called DuraMats made by Welch Products from recycled tire material. Adding this type of surfacing will provide greater safety for visitors to the location.

The play equipment at the site would played a pivotal roll in the success of the renovation. Manufactured by Miracle Recreation, the system contains 13 slides, 16 climbers and 28 interactive play panels. "We contacted Miracle for the equipment. We also did some design work with the kids," Group said. The end result is a playground that contains elements for all children. Ramps and bridges were made wide enough for wheelchair access and interactive panels can be used by children with hearing or visual impairments.

Recently, the Antelope Park in Lincoln, Neb. was renovated in order to provide greater accessibility.

The design for the Antelope Park project doesn't contain one overall theme for the design, although the small sand area takes on a castle motif. "Accessibility is the only real theme," Group said. Trying to devise an appropriate design motif for the site can be a challenge at any location. But when you add the requirements of accessibility into the equation, some designers might be intimated at the process.

Group said that Landscape Architects shouldn't be concerned that designing for accessibility may limit the typical creative choices. Instead, designing a truly accessible playground can inspire even more creative. "It opens up new avenues that you can explore to make creative choices about the relationships between two areas," he said. "It gives you many challenges and rewards."