Six-year-old Beckett Olson, who has autism, meets his father Cameron at the bottom of the slide while playing at Antelope Park in August. The Olsons have worked with others to get an all-inclusive playground for Beckett and other children with a variety of special needs.
It started with a phone call, mobilized into a coalition and came to this: a city Parks and Recreation plan to build inclusive playgrounds within 5 miles of every Lincoln resident.
That coalition included moms who have kids with disabilities, led by one mom who also happens to lead the Autism Family Network and is (and I don’t think I’m overstating this) a woman who gets things done.
They wanted playgrounds designed for all kids — including theirs — and they became part of a committee put together by Parks and Rec officials to come up with a plan.
Last week, those officials laid out their strategy:
* Build the first playground at Mahoney Park in northeast Lincoln by 2024, renovate the central Antelope Park playground into a modern inclusive playground in 2026 and, within 12 years, add inclusive playgrounds as Jensen Park is developed near 84th Street and Yankee Hill Road and when the city builds a new park in northwest Lincoln.
* Add inclusive equipment for children with disabilities to neighborhood parks near city recreation centers over the next decade. They include parks near Easterday Recreation Center, 6130 Adams St.; Belmont Recreation Center, 1234 Judson St.; the new Huskerville recreation center in Air Park; Calvert Recreation Center, 4500 Stockwell St.; and Irving Recreation Center, 2010 Van Dorn St.
The four large inclusive playgrounds would cost about $800,000 apiece, with the city contributing $300,000 to each and the Parks and Recreation foundation running a fundraising campaign to raise an additional $500,000 for each.
Some inclusive equipment would be added to the smaller parks as part of the city’s regular schedule for park updates, and Parks and Recreation would ask for an additional $70,000 in city funds for adaptive equipment for each park.
To back up a bit, this started when Cathy Martinez — the woman who gets things done — got a call from another mom who wanted help trying to convince city officials to add adaptable swings her son, who has autism, could use.
Martinez reached out to City Councilman James Michael Bowers, and that led to the city adding $100,000 to the budget for adaptable swings at parks in each of the city’s four quadrants.
But those advocates had done their research, and found that smaller communities in Nebraska had raised money for inclusive parks with all kinds of equipment for individuals with special needs, and they decided to think bigger.
That led to the committee, lots of discussion and, ultimately, the plan city officials shared with that committee last week.
The advocates had pitched one large inclusive playground that would include lots of amenities for the many families who have children with special needs — Martinez felt strongly it should be in Mahoney Park — to the tune of $800,000 to $1.3 million.
City officials felt that if that's the direction they were heading, a city the size of Lincoln needed more than one such playground. The advocates worried it would spread available resources too thin to provide the kind of experience they believe families deserve.
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The city conducted a survey, and the committee debated about location and scope.Â
The fact that the plan prioritizes two large playgrounds at Mahoney and Antelope parks is good, Martinez said, and she’s grateful city officials included the people most affected by any decisions in the process.Â
“The city has put a lot of work and effort and thought into this — the working committee as well — and my hope is that the city advisory board continues to allow the community involvement from the special-needs community at the next phase of this,†she said.
Martinez said parents didn’t get everything they’d wanted — a splash pad, which was more expensive and had to follow more-stringent state swimming pool regulations — wasn’t included. But officials seemed open to adding that later.
She said Mahoney Park was originally slated to have a water feature that never materialized. Adding that splash pad at some point would help fulfill that original goal.
City Parks and Recreation Director Lynn Johnson said as officials thought about it, they realized regular updates to smaller neighborhood parks near city rec centers could include adding some adaptive equipment and making sure they have matted surfaces rather than sand.
If Parks and Rec adds $100,000 a year to its capital improvement budget (including the $100,000 already approved in the current budget), it wouldn’t have to skimp on other needs, Johnson said. Parks and Rec officials have talked with the mayor and City Council to make sure it’s a priority.
The proposed playgrounds follow a national trend for larger inclusive playgrounds that address visual, auditory and other senses and provide opportunities for kids of all abilities, Johnson said.Â
They’d include opportunities for imaginative and social play, opportunities to build strength and coordination, to solve problems and build confidence, and allow for sensory play. There will also be spaces for children to calm themselves if they get overstimulated.
They won’t have a splash pad, but will have water play areas, he said, and will be surrounded by fencing — a major concern of parents, because some children on the autism spectrum like to wander.
The plans will be posted on the city website Thursday with a comment section and there will be other opportunities for the public to weigh in. Officials will ask the advisory board to endorse the plan, then the foundation will mount a fundraising campaign.
Johnson said the advocates who were on the committee can remain involved through the fundraising campaign or as part of a group that would meet periodically to review plans and offer advice.
Johnson said they've come a long way since the $100,000 was initially added to the budget, and he’s happy they’ve moved to a broader plan.
“It took a group of advocates to help us get to that point,†he said. “We’re very excited about this plan.â€
And those advocates, Martinez said, plan to stay involved. To make sure the people who will be using those playgrounds, who know so well the challenges that their children face, continue to have a voice at the table.
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Six-year-old Beckett Olson, who has autism, meets his father Cameron at the bottom of the slide while playing at Antelope Park in August. The Olsons have worked with others to get an all-inclusive playground for Beckett and other children with a variety of special needs.