NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) -- A playground aimed at being accessible for kids with disabilities is coming to a park in New Albany.
The inclusive playground will cost around $1 million for the equipment and installation, aimed at bringing kids with disabilities together with their friends all in one accessible area by featuring amenities that children with and without special needs can enjoy.
"This will be the crown jewel once we get this finished," said Roger Jeffers, superintendent if Floyd County Parks and Recreation.
The playground is more than 1,000 square feet and will be constructed with wheelchair-accessible swings, slides and a zipline. It will be covered with a soft surface for crawling.
Traditional playgrounds don't usually have features that cater to the disabled community.
"When other parents think about going to the park, they think, 'OK, we're going to take the kids to the park, and I'm going to just sit on the bench, and I'm going to take it easy, take a break and watch them play,'" said Ryann Bond, the mother of a child with Spina Bifida. "With Jax, it's just not that simple."
About 2,200 students in New Albany Floyd County Schools have some kind of disability, and this new, inclusive playground is what those children need to enjoy the fun on their own.
"It's usually a lot of work going to the park with him, and I think with this new playground, it will be somewhere I can take him and let him go because it will be so accessible for him," Bond said.
Jax, who has Spina Bifida, often has to be carried or accompanied by Bond on traditional playgrounds. This new amenity will allow him the ability to do things on his own.
Jax, who has Spina Bifida, often has to be carried or accompanied by Bond on traditional playgrounds. This new amenity will allow him the ability to do things on his own.
"Better to get around stuff on my own," Jax said.
More than $500,000 has been raised for the playground so far, and the parks system is well on its way to raising the rest of the money needed to fund installation.
"This is something that's really needed in our community and really the whole southern Indiana region," Jeffers said.
Officials said the playground could be ready by this fall.
Copyright 2021 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
