Fallon Park Elementary School, located in the City of Roanoke, VA, had a vision for creating a playground that could include children of all abilities. Working with All Recreation’s Eric White, they chose a unique design dividing their 2-5 custom play structure from their 5-12 custom play structure with a path for easy access. They used a unitary safety surfacing as well as plenty of deck and ground level activities to increase this accessibility. Music and sensory panels are found near climbing structures and Freedom Swings are adjacent to traditional swing seats, rounding out the opportunities for kids to play together at their own level.
“As a public-school system, we fully believe in providing accessible play for all children,” says Chad Maddox, Supervisor at Roanoke City Public Schools. He goes on to say, “In this design, we wanted to make sure we had a truly inclusive playground, however, we were limited in space. All Recreation was still able to provide us with all our wish list items from accessible ramps to sensory panels and a unitary surface, making all the play areas accessible."
Fallon Park Elementary School's playground is a wonderful example of how thoughtful details and design can build community for ALL kids.