Page 89 - San Angelo

used at Unidad Park is made by the company who supplies surfaces at Walt Disney World. All structures have a ramp so that a child in a wheelchair can access the equipment. That is more than the Americans with Disabilities Act requires, but is absolutely essential for a child with limited mobility.

Katrina Pfuger says that each feature of the playground is backed by signifcant research and knowledge on accessibility. There is a wheelchair swing and three shell swings for a person who cannot sit up unassisted. The sandbox has a high wall and is designed to be flled to the top with sand so that someone in a wheelchair can lean over and play in the sand without having to actually enter the sandy area. The structures’ heights are specialized because children’s wheelchairs are

different sizes than adult chairs, and all of those specifcs were taken into account. The real magic of Unidad Park does not lie solely in its accessibility to children with disabilities. According to Carl White, Parks and Recreation Director for the City of San Angelo, “Karen Stribling Unidad Park set the standard for all of the playgrounds in San Angelo. Following the building of Unidad, we started to renovate the other parks in the city. Unidad was defnitely the catalyst for the revitalization of all our parks.”

In other words, a special playground built especially for children with disabilities and their playmates set a trend that has benefted children in every neighborhood of San Angelo – a miracle in terms of unintended consequences.  SAL