A new three-million dollar, accessible playground is now open near downtown Lansing.
On Friday, as children slid down slides, hopped on swings, and ran all around, officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of Play Michigan.
The new playground is adjacent to the Adado Riverfront Park near Grand Avenue and Saginaw Street. It's designed to be accessible for people with physical, sensory and developmental disabilities. The structure is barrier-free and includes ramps so all kids can access every level of the playground.
Laurie Baumer is President and CEO of the Capital Region Community Foundation, which helped fund the playground. She said planners spoke with parents and accessibility advocates throughout the design process.
“Some people were worried that it was on the riverfront, and we were listening," Baumer said. "So we did include some changes to the park to make some barriers so that kids couldn’t race towards the river."
Organizers had been working to create the park since before the pandemic as part of an effort to expand development along the riverfront. The playground came with a price tag of more than $3.2 million, and multiple organizations contributed to the project.
The Community Foundation also partnered with the City of Lansing and secured federal funding from Rep. Elissa Slotkin to offset construction costs.
Mayor Andy Schor said the facility makes Lansing more welcoming to people of all ages and abilities.
“We do have accessibility pieces in different parks, but we didn’t have a park of accessibility," Schor said. "Today, that changes.”
The space includes an entire parking lot reserved for handicapped vehicles.
