By Christine M. Quirk and Laura Hayes — [email protected]
Before Laura Will brings her family to a playground, she looks at photos or satellite images to see if there’s anything her son Alden could enjoy.
Alden, 5, uses a wheelchair. He and his friend Ethan, 4 1/2, attend the integrated preschool at Ripley, a program that blends special needs and typically developing students together in the classroom, according to the school’s website.
Ethan, mom Justine Martinelli said, has a rare neurological condition leading to mobility impairment, as well as delays to his fine motor and cognitive skills.
Both families have been watching the planning of a new playground at Thoreau Elementary School and worrying that the proposed design is not as accessible as it could be.
“One of the biggest challenges is finding playscapes or playgrounds that are fully accessible to children like Ethan,” said Martinelli.
‘Thoreau’s Backyard’
One design goal for the playground project, called “Thoreau’s Backyard,” is that it be inclusive; however, Dave Nicholson, Alden’s dad, said the only design that has been shared is not fully accessible.
“In our minds, [that] means it’s not truly inclusive,” said Nicholson.
During the March 25 School Committee meeting, chair Carrie Rankin said the design is in its “conception phase” to support fundraising efforts; the design will come to the School Committee for a full vote once fundraising is complete.
Rankin and schools Superintendent Laurie Hunter have met with the parents, and they are committed to maintaining open communication and “working together in a collaborative spirit moving forward,” Rankin said.
While the final makeup of the project isn’t clear at this point, “we are working toward that together,” said Rankin. “We will ensure that this is a space where all kids can enjoy play.”
A seat on the playground committee was also recently added for a Special Education Parent Advisory Council member.
The council, publicity chair Krys Streeter-Tarlow told The Bridge, is “optimistic that the committee will achieve its goal of designing an inclusive and accessible space for children of all abilities, including those with mobility challenges.”
District spokesman Tom Lucey and principal Justin Sparks did not respond to a request for comment. Committee members Erin Sahacic and Mitch Brooks declined to comment.
Striking balance
Playground projects must meet requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act and regulations through the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board. One such regulation is that engineered wood fiber — like wood chips — can’t be an accessible surface in a playground.
Wood chips are a particular concern, Martinelli said, because wheelchairs and walkers have difficulty moving through them, and the chips can make their way onto other surfaces.
Though that is the “non-negotiable baseline,” Meghan Dufresne, an architectural designer and project manager with the New England ADA Center, said other specialized equipment, such as wheelchair swings, are not included.
“[Those] are not required in the code and could be decided in the community,” she said.
There is always a balance, Concord landscape architect Jennifer Brooke said, between “what is required and what is desired.”
“Projects that are inclusive have fewer elements that separate those with different abilities from those that are more able, at any given time,” she said. “… Being ‘inclusive’ is not a regulatory requirement, but one with its roots in creating shared everyday experiences.”
At the March 11 School Committee meeting, Will said inclusivity is core to the project’s design.
“When we have a partially accessible playscape, it creates an experience of segregation and, I think, teaches a tricky lesson to all of us that kids with disabilities have a less-than experience,” she said. “I really hope that we can overcome that and not have that script play out locally.”
