Community Corner

Design Process Under Way for Gig Harbor's Inclusive Playground

The Gig Harbor Maritime PlayZone at the City Park will feature a playground that will invite kids of all abilities.

The design process for the inclusive playground at the Gig Harbor Maritime PlayZone at the is officially under way.

Gig Harbor officials and the City Park Playground Committee recently met with representatives from Landscape Structures and Shane's Inspiration to brainstorm the design concept for the playground, which will accommodate kids and adults with all abilities.

Last October, from the national Together We Play™ contest, sponsored by Landscape Structures Inc., in partnership with Shane’s Inspiration. A group of Gig Harbor residents–parents of children with various disabilities–crafted a 1,000-word essay requesting the funding for a safe playground with sensory components and graduated levels of play, allowing children of all abilities to interact with the playground and each other.

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Of the $60,000 prize, $10,000 will be devoted to universally accessible playground equipment from Landscape Structures, and $50,000 will be used toward the design, development and educational programming assistance from Shane’s Inspiration.

In addition to the funding, the has also agreed to foot $100,000 of the bill. Committee chair Stephanie Payne said the group has now started its fundraising process and hopes to raise another $100,000 to meet its $250,000 budget. After speaking at local Rotary clubs and organizations, she said, the group will start branching out to regional businesses and individual families for donations.

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Following the meeting, the group also invited local kids to throw in their two cents by sketching out their dream playground.

Virginia Hatley, director of design for Shane's Inspiration, snapped photos of the kids' drawings and said she will use the sketches and suggestions from the adults and kids to design the playground, which will also feature a replica of a modern-day fishing vessel.

Brad Thornton, Shane's Inspiration's director of project development, said the playground will be accessible to everyone regardless of age or mobility, including adults with disabilities who would like to visit the park with their family.

With 40 playgrounds already set up across North America, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit company has 75 additional parks in development.

"Our vision is to eliminate bias against people with disabilities," Thornton said. "These playgrounds are the vehicle to allow the programs to eliminate that bias. Currently, 80 to 90 percent of the adults with disabilities in the workplace lose their jobs due to lack of social skills. So that this generation is more accepting, more knowledgeable and more welcoming to the disabled community."

Thornton said it will take about eight to 12 weeks to create a conceptual design and an additional four weeks for the complete design of the playground. Once the design and the funding are set in place, he said, it will typically take about four to eight months to build the structure.

"If we get enough private individuals really interested in the concept and the design, the heritage of the fishing vessel and being all ADA accessible, I think that will take charge," Payne said.

If you would like more information or want to make a donation, visit the Gig Harbor Maritime PlayZone website.


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