THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 29, 1996 TAG: 9608300805
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 84 lines
A day in the park just got a little easier to deal with for the hundreds of handicapped children who use Norfolk playgrounds.
During the last three months, city maintenance personnel have modified 15 neighborhood playgrounds so children of all abilities will be able to climb, swing and slide together.
Handicapped children will also now have less trouble just making their way to the equipment.
As part of the $113,000 modification project, the sand surrounding playground equipment was removed and replaced with a resilient wood fiber much easier for wheelchairs to navigate.
Equipment was also redesigned. Climbing apparatus, slides and other parts of playing clusters were removed so that wheelchair-accessible transfer platforms with grab bars could be installed, allowing handicapped children to move right onto the equipment.
After getting up and on the clusters, handicapped children now have a more varied choice of equipment from which to choose, depending on their level of skills.
A tic-tac-toe game for children with little or no strength, for instance, is situated alongside pull-up bars for those who are stronger.
``We wanted handicapped kids to be able to use playground equipment right alongside the kids with all ranges of abilities,'' noted Peter O'Halloran, superintendent of the city's facility maintenance bureau. ``We wanted to mainstream these kids . . . not exclude them.''
Seven years ago, when Tarrallton Park was designed, that's exactly what was done. Handicapped children were assigned to a smaller playground, located yards away from the one used by other children.
``The problem was these kids were in an isolated setting by themselves, and the other kids were over on larger, more attractive equipment,'' noted O'Halloran. ``We saw a need to change that.''
The city official admitted that another ``impetus'' to change playgrounds was the passage of the federal Americans With Disabilities Act, passed in the early '90s. Among its provisions, that act requires municipalities to provide handicapped individuals with fuller access to public facilities.
Thus, playgrounds built in Norfolk during the past five years have been designed to accommodate the needs of all children within the same environment. Recently constructed playgrounds at Lafayette Park and Northside Park, for example, were designed to provide challenges and physical opportunities for handicapped children, preschoolers and older youth, all within barrier-free linked sections.
Those neighborhood playgrounds modified recently had all been built more than a decade ago, said O'Halloran. Those include ones in Larchmont, Riverpoint, Lakewood Park, Barraud Park, Monticello Village, Colonial Place, Lafayette Residence Park, Tarrallton Park, Captain's Quarters Park, Berkley Park, Glenwood Park and East Ocean View. Other modifications were done at the Taylor Tot Lot, Pollard Street Playground and Raleigh Avenue Playground.
Plans call for more aging playgrounds to receive similar modifications as funding becomes available.
Of the 120 playgrounds maintained by the city, more than half are used by schools as an extension of physical education activities. Those will not receive modifications, said O'Halloran. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
PARKS FOR ALL KIDS
Playgrounds that allow children of all abilities to climb, swing
and slide together. Now, handicapped children will also have less
trouble making their way to the equipment. The newly equipped parks
include:
Barraud Park
Berkley Park
Captain's Quarters Park
Colonial Place
East Ocean View
Glenwood Park
Lafayette Park
Lakewood Park
Larchmont
Monticello Village
Northside Park
Pollard Street Playground
Raleigh Avenue Playground
Riverpointe
Tarrallton Park
Taylor Tot Lot
More playgrounds will be modified as funding becomes available. by CNB