Playground groundbreaking ceremony today in Atascadero
Joy Playground Groundbreaking Ceremony at Colony Park Community Center today, May 1
—The City of Atascadero and Parents for Joy are pleased to announce the groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, May 1, 4 p.m. at the Colony Park Community Center to initiate construction for the Joy Playground. This much-anticipated project has been made possible by the recent grant along with many donations from Kiwanis of Atascadero, the local Paso Robles Chapter of 100+ Women Who Care to a variety of local businesses, contractors, and residents. This has been an ongoing fundraising effort on behalf of the Parents for Joy organization, which will be constructed on the grounds of Atascadero’s Colony Park Community Center.
Parents for Joy is a group of local parents, families, and teachers who live with or are associated with children with special needs. Their vision for the all-inclusive Joy Playground comes from their desire for a playground available to all children and their loved ones that will enhance the safety and involvement of children with special needs, as well as providing the ability for adult parents, grandparents and other adult loved ones with special needs to have access to their children while at play.
The playground has been meticulously designed for not only those with special needs, but for the entire community, including children, parents, families, veterans, and grandparents; it truly will be a place for everybody to play. Most accessible playgrounds still have lots of hazards and places that are not accessible to everyone. This playground will be like no other playground in San Luis Obispo County, with numerous very special features specifically designed to accommodate adults and children with special needs. The chosen ground cover is called Poured In Place Rubber (PIP), which is a universal ground cover and makes the entire playground area accessible. For added safety and security, the playground will be fully fenced with only one entrance gate. (Some children with special needs tend to “elope” or run away and don’t understand dangers like traffic.) The main feature will be an accessible treehouse with slides and lots of fun panels to play with. With the one of a kind design, children who do not have the physical ability to climb up a ladder can feel what it’s like to be high up in a tree, but will still be completely safe.
There will be many different slides, including stainless steel slides for people with cochlear implants because plastic slides cause static and shouldn’t be used by those with cochlear implants. There will be 12 swings, including swings with a harness system to help keep the child or adult upright and safe. There will also be a Robin Egg that rocks back and forth and can also be used for a safe space when a child gets overstimulated, a raft that rocks and holds six children and a wheelchair, and a teeter–totter that has a tactile face for those with visual impairment or sensory issues.
The organization is still in need of donations to meet the projected total needed to complete the new playground. To contact or to donate to the Parents for Joy Playground project, please contact them at [email protected]. For more information about the project, visitwww.parentsforjoy.org.
