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The Sunrise Boundless Playscape is a barrier free playground. It provides 70% accessibility for children, parents, grandparents and caregivers regardless of their physical limitations. It will be the first Boundless playground in Kansas. Listen to what a Wichita parent who is in a wheelchair had to say about the project: I broke my back on a ski trip when I was 16. I suffered an incomplete spinal cord injury. I spent the remaining semester of my junior year in high school in a Colorado hospital. By the time I left the hospital, I was able to get up on long legged straight braces and walk very short distances, but I decided I could get more done and be more productive in a wheelchair. As time moved on I began to throw myself into my life. Instead of dwelling on what happened to me and questioning 'why', I decided to live my life. I went on to college and lived my life as if there was no disability in my way. I got married after college and moved with my husband, LeRoy, to Wichita to pursue career opportunities. In 2002 and 2005, we welcomed our daughters into the world. I will admit, for the first time since my accident, I wondered how I was going to manage. I wondered about all the things that I would not get to enjoy or share with them because I couldn't get up and move around very well. But, as time went on, I realized that most things I want to do with them, I can. I can swim with them, play tennis with them, play in the front yard. One of the things that we love to do is go down the block to our neighborhood park. Our park is grounded with sand and is very basic. We go to the park often, and my girls just understand that there are limitations with what I can do. However, there are definitely times when they get frustrated and question why I am different than the other mommies. At one point we were at the park and one of my daughters wanted me to help her up the slide. When I told her I couldn't get through the sand, she said, "I wish I had a stand up mommy." It's moments like these that I just have to deal with the situation and teach her to accept it for what it is. I try to emphasize all the positive things about having a mommy in a wheelchair - like getting to sit on my lap and roll around the mall. I try to explain that I would do anything for her that I could and that I love her as much as a "stand up mommy." Having a place to play and interact with my children in a park setting will help me to share in something with my children that most people take for granted. Even though my kids aren't disabled, it will impact their lives because their mommy can play with them interactively. I think that is an added benefit of the Sunrise Boundless Playscape. Currently, ALL public parks in Sedgwick County meet only minimum requirements of accessibility as mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA Disabilities Accessibility Guidelines for Play Areas (ADAAG) require that only 50% of equipment be accessible and only 25% must be ramped on large play structures. According to 2000 US Census statistics, there are 6,300 children within the Wichita MSA with disabilities. Families with both able and disabled children have no playground where the family can play together. Parents with disabilities have no playground to take their children to. |
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