From its inception, Imagine Playground was envisioned to be an impactful space, designed to fill the need for accessible, all-inclusive play spaces within the City of Dublin and the greater Bay Area. All-abilities playgrounds and parks with all-inclusive access are rare public amenities, and often parents with special needs children must travel out of their neighborhood in search of a safe, fully inclusive play space. With the Bay Area's size and population, the demand and desire for parks that cater to all abilities and all ages have readily increased in recent years. Imagine Playground is truly a special project that involved a wide array of stakeholders and robust community engagement with the intention of creating a safe and inclusive environment where users of all ages and all abilities can play alongside their peers without feeling excluded or marginalized.
From the initial planning through construction, the design team utilized several communication channels to communicate with the community regarding events, project updates, and input opportunities. Social media posts on Facebook, Nextdoor, the City of Dublin website, city-wide and focused emails, and school district communication channels were utilized to build awareness and engagement for the project. The initial kickoff focus group included parents, caretakers, teachers, and administrators of special populations programs within the Dublin community. This preliminary feedback was invaluable to better understand the direct user needs specific to the Dublin community.
At all public outreach events (pop-up booths at the tree lighting and Breakfast for Santa; Community Workshop) participants shared written comments and voted on dot boards regarding preferred amenities, themes, and designs for the $4 million playground. The Community Workshop also featured a short survey where participants were encouraged to answer a few questions related to their specific needs for the park. In addition, laptop computers were set up at the Community Workshop event with Virtual Fly-through tours of the various playground concepts to provide an intimate experience of the designs. Using technology, people of all ages and abilities were given a sneak peek into the park design and the state-of-the-art play equipment. All feedback was summarized, analyzed to identify trends and themes in preferences, and used to inform design decisions in the conceptual plan.

 
Located at Dublin Sports Grounds, Gates completed the design and implementation of the park's new features, including an all-abilities interactive playground, offering state-of-the-art play equipment for ages 2-12, fitness equipment for ages 13+, adult fitness equipment, an all-inclusive picnic area, an upgraded landscape, a restroom, concession, and parking facilities. Pathways were also improved for accessibility and connectivity to other park areas. The playground was completed in March 2021 and is the recipient of the 2021 CPRS Award of Excellence in Design and Park Planning, and is the 2022 NorCal APWA Project of the Year.

The upcoming Playgrounds Issue of Landscape Architect and Specifier News saw many firms submit their projects for feature consideration. This project was not chosen for a Feature in the issue, but we at LandscapeArchitect.com thought the project deserved to be showcased online . . .

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