A new playground designed for people of all abilities and ages is coming soon to downtown Lansing. More than 2 million dollars have been raised for the project.
The Capital Region Community Foundation is building what it’s calling the first completely barrier-free playground in the area.
The Foundation’s Vice President Laurie Baumer says it will feature monkey bars, slides and swings all accessible to children using wheelchairs.
"When a child with disabilities comes to a park, they might get one or two pieces of equipment to play on, and they have to watch their friends and others play on everything and have access to everything," she said. "That's just not right."
She says the playground on the city’s riverfront will feature a transfer mechanism that allows children using wheelchairs to get up to the top of a slide on their own.
“If they choose, they can actually get off the slide or out of their wheelchair if they're able, they can get off in, onto this, what they call a transfer platform, and turn their body, so that they can actually go down the slide independently," she said.
Baumer says the playground will also feature signs in Braille and picnic tables large enough to fit up to two wheelchairs. The playground is expected to open to the public this fall.