Haltom City adds playground where children of all abilities can have fun together

Life is just a lot more fun when it’s inclusive.

Now, after years of discussion and planning, Haltom City has an inclusive playground, so virtually all of the children in town can enjoy themselves playing alone or alongside friends on a variety of playground equipment, including slides, climbing walls and more.

An inclusive playground is a place where children with and without disabilities can play together. It takes away barriers, both physical and social.

“This playground includes accessible routes of travel throughout the structure, as well as interactive sensory panels for auditory, visual and tactile sensors,” Parks and Recreation Director Christi Pruitt said. “The surfacing will allow wheelchairs and anyone with mobility issues to navigate around the structure safely.”

Pruitt said the playground, built by the company GameTime, was designed and built using the Seven Principles of Inclusive Playground Design found in the Me2 guidebook, developed by PlayCore and Utah State University Center for Persons with Disabilities. It has also qualified as a National Demonstration Site for others interested in installing their own inclusive playground.

The idea came from Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Vice Chairman Don LeMaster, Pruitt said. He initially brought up the subject in 2013, and discussion resurfaced again when Pruitt became parks director.

“He said it made him sad to drive by parks and see a kid in a wheelchair sitting by watching the other kids play,” Pruitt said.

So Pruitt, along with several key players from the Birdville school district such as caretakers, teachers and parents of students with special needs, went to work. Pruitt attended a seminar on all-inclusive playgrounds and even found a grant opportunity.

The cost of the playground, located in Haltom Road Park, was just over $214,000. The city spent approximately $70,500 on playground equipment and $87,000 on the poured in place soft surfacing (the first of its kind in Haltom City) from general obligation bond funds, and an additional $56,600 came from a grant from GameTime/PlayCore.

“When we designed this park, we talked to the moms and dads to find out what they needed,” LeMaster said.

“A mom at the event told me that she could not believe this playground was down the street from her and something that her child (who has autism) would be able to use and love,” Pruitt said.

There are still plans to add picnic benches, some fencing, and hopefully swings and more amenities if additional funding comes in, Pruitt said. However, suffice to say folks are happy with what is already in place bringing joy to their youngsters.

“We see that this is the future of our city by thinking of others and what the community needs,” Mayor Pro Tem Lin Thompson said.

This story was originally published January 3, 2020 at 6:00 AM.