CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Six-year-old Elizabeth Sadowski wants to be able to play at the park with her older sister, Angelina.
Elizabeth said she doesn’t get to play outside with Angelina, 10, as much as she’d like because Angelina is in a wheelchair, and not a lot of playground equipment is built to be accessible.
“It’s not very fair,” she said, sitting on the floor of the gym in the Parks and Recreation Center on Canterbury Road on Thursday surrounded by colored markers. She was designing her idea for a new playground at White Park.
One of Elizabeth’s ideas is an accessible merry-go-round, like the one she and her sister played on at Legacy Playground in Nashua. The girls’ father, Jonathan, said they went round-and-round that day for an hour.
“She likes spinning,” Elizabeth said, smiling next to her sister, who sat next to her in her electric wheelchair. “I want us both to be able to play on stuff together. That’s my goal.”
Greater accessibility was a theme Thursday night when community members gathered for a reenvisioning session at for Monkey Around Playground at White Park. The beloved wooden playground is becoming too costly to repair, and it’s time for the city to plan a design for a new one, officials said.
Mother Deodonne Bhattarai, whose 4-year-old son is in a wheelchair, said there are not currently any playgrounds in Concord that are universally designed, meaning they are designed to be accessible as possible for individuals, regardless of ability. Legacy Playground, which the Sadowskis visited, is one of only a few in the state.
“It’s a major barrier for kids who have mobility issues,” she said. “Concord is such a welcoming and inclusive place, and our playgrounds should reflect that.”
Playgrounds by Leathers, the same company that designed Monkey Around Playground almost 30 years ago, has been contracted by the city to design the new playground.
Playgrounds by Leathers Designer Jim Houghton, who was present at the meeting Thursday, said there are a lot of options for accessible playground equipment that didn’t exist in 1994: accessible swings, merry-go-rounds, rubber flooring that makes it easier for kids with wheelchairs to move around.
“It’s something we can make a priority,” he said.
Parks and Recreation Director David Gill said the city wants to include as many child voices in the redesign process as possible. He said a group of volunteers from the city, Friends of White Park and Leathers visited Abbot-Downing and Christa McAuliffe Schools that day to collect ideas.
Concepts ranged from putting hot tubs in the park, to petting zoos to ropes courses, Gill said. Some recommended plants and flowers being planted around the park. Others wanted zip lines.
At the Recreation Center Thursday, Ashlyn Picott, 10, said she wants to see a climbing wall and a treehouse. Bailey Chislette, 12, said she is hoping that the playground can be designed with a fantasy theme with dragons and unicorns.
Bailey’s sister, Annabelle, 9, said she’s excited for the park to have new swings. She loves the swings there now, but they’re so old, she gets rust on her hands from the chains.
“I was happy because then I learned there would be newer stuff with more technology,” she said, of her reaction to the news of the park redesign. “I like being able to help out with the ideas because I feel like I’m part of something.”
Jen Chislette, the girls’ mother, said she was a kid when the Monkey Around Playground was being built.
“I’m excited that they’re going to be part of the process because someday they might bring their kids here,” she said.
Gill said the redesigning process is bittersweet. The Monkey Around Playground is something that has a lot of sentimental value to Concord residents.
“I’m sure a lot of you may have been part of the original build, and your grandkids or your kids have all played in it,” Gill said to the crowd Thursday. “This is the beginning of a wonderful, hard conversation.”
The city is asking for community members to participate in the design process for the new playground. A survey can be found at concordnh.gov/1472/Monkey-Around-Playground. Surveys will be accepted through Friday.
The city’s goal is to complete begin building a new playground in the summer of 2021.
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