Developed by Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation and Museums, in association with Let All The Children Play Foundation (LATCP), a Long Island-based not-for-profit organisation, the new park attempts at blurring the gap between typical and disabled children by fostering interaction among them.
The design of the park allows children of different physical and mental abilities, including wheel-chaired children, to play together and share every area and each piece of equipment on the playground.
The park has certain features which increases sound and sensory play opportunities, and has been designed to offer easy access to all areas. The park also allows disabled adults to use the facilities.
The park has been built within an existing park, which included mature trees. The project preserved the mature trees and involved development of several creative landscaping and site engineering solutions, which created a comfortable, shaded, and pleasant playground.
The landscape has been created with slope towards the trees, which directs the run-off water towards them. To further prevent run-off water wastage, the base for the safety surfacing features porous materials, which allows rainwater to be absorbed in the ground by the roots.
The Let All The Children Play Playground exceeds ADA accessibility requirements for play areas, and all equipment meets and exceeds safety and accessibility standards set by ASTM, CPSC and ADA. The facility is divided into two areas, with one for 0-5 year age group and second for 5-12 years old. All the equipment and pathways are placed at sufficient distance, which allows locomotion of the wheelchair around the park.
The playground has large number of seating for the parents and guardians. The park also has four picnic areas and has provisions for the incorporation of a nature exploration section in the future. Certain swing seats have amusement park ride-like harnesses for children with balancing problems. One of the seats of the seesaws have a back rest, which aids children with balancing problem. The slides are gently sloped for increased safety and ease of use. The climbing structures have wheelchair ramps.
The surface materials palette used consist of multi-coloured, poured-in-place recycled rubber; artificial grass; pavers; natural grass; as well as a decorative pavers showcasing names of donors. The surfaces have been finished in bright colours and patterns. To further grab attention of little children, BBS has added colour-indicated pathways and games. For increasing children’s sensory experiences, a variety of surface textures and materials have been used.
The entrance pathway connects the entrance to a centrally located, polygonal Welcome Center, which is a sheltered place. The highlight of the park is a 51-feet-long play bridge, which has been manufactured by Dynamo Playgrounds and is based on the Trail Bridge DX-701-C product. The bridge has a 11-feet concrete footings foundation and a 3’11”-wide walking surface constructed of recycled plastic composite planks. It has 20mm and 22mm diameter polyamide (nylon) rope cable with UV protection and fire retardant solution; and 5 1/2″ OD galvanised steel tubing finished with polyester powder coating.
The other equipments that have been incorporated consist of Kompan’s custom ADA transfer station; Ocean/Jungle, Story Makers, Sierra and two custom, Galaxy-type climbing structures; Ocean spring seesaws; Cat slide; Coupe Deluxe car; Mermaid’s Fountain water play feature; Starfish and rotating tables; Shark spring toys; Spica and Junior Spica spinners; spinner bowl; Supernova ring spinner; Rock-it rocker; Billy Goat play patch; Argo balancing tube, and Little Elephant and Little Hen rockers.
The equipments used in the playground are Goric-branded pieces, such as an Integration carousel, which accommodates riders in wheelchairs. The company has also provided Euroflex surface Mushroom features and Dance chimes. The additional features of the park consist of a tire swing and two multi-bay metal swings with Zero-G disability adapted harness chair seats, belts seats and enclosed tot seats by GameTime.
