Celebrating Multigenerational Inclusive Play in Indiana
The city of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, is promoting multigenerational and inclusive play through the installation of a premier playground at Arch Street Park. City officials will host an Opening Rededication Event on June 4 at 1 p.m. at the park, and everyone in the community is encouraged to attend.
The playground was made possible and partially funded by a GameTime Playground Grant Funding Award.
Community Champions
“On behalf of everyone at GameTime, congratulations on your new playground,” says President of Gametime Spencer Cheak. “Your commitment to inclusive play and outdoor recreation for people of all ages and abilities is a model for communities around the country. Everyone involved in making this possible is a true community champion, and we are honored to partner with you to make play possible for everyone.”
With a playground tower, net climbers, roller slide, and more, there's something for everyone at the new Arch Street Park playground
Community Collaboration
In 2020, the Lawrenceburg community set out to revamp Arch Street Park with inclusive play elements for people of all ages and abilities. This led to the formation of the Arch Street Park Playground Committee, which consists of area residents and community members.
This dedicated group set forth to review existing playground infrastructure conditions, address recreation issues in the area, and improve accessibility for outdoor play environments.
Jeff Branham, a sales associate with Sinclair Recreation, the exclusive GameTime distributor in Indiana and Michigan, worked with the steering committee over the past year to help make the project come to fruition.
“It was great to develop options for their park based on feedback from the community. We worked with people and kids of all ages and abilities to create the playground that is going to be perfect for this community, and it’s been such a blessing to be a part of a project that is going to affect so many people,” said Branham.
Led by Mayor Kelly Mollaun, the community champions on the committee include:
- Sallee Johns
- Joe Vogelgesang
- Erin Ratliff
- Nicole Ratliff
- Taylor Ratliff
- Grace Brown
- A.J. Waltz
- Connie Knue
- Tina Zint
- Bonnie Vise
- Guinevere Emery
- Mario Todd
Focused on the Whole Community
Their main goal was to create a playground design featuring inclusive, fun, and exceptional play experiences to add to the city’s award-winning Parks.
The playground at Arch Street Park features accessible routes of travel throughout the play area.
“[The] project took a lot of time, with great input from our playground committee, to finalize a design that could be utilized by different age groups for ultimate fun and healthy experiences,” said Mayor Kelly Mollaun.
Driven By Research
The playground committee shares GameTime’s mission of creating play environments where everybody can play, regardless of age or ability.
“Makes you want to be a kid again!” says Construction Project Manager Mario Todd.
Guided by the research found in Me2: 7 Principles of Inclusive Playground Design, the Arch Street Playground is recognized by PlayCore as a National Demonstration Site for inclusive play.
Partners for Inclusive Play
GameTime is proud to partner with community champions like those in Lawrenceburg. Countless communities around the country are beginning to create genuinely inclusive playgrounds that go beyond ADA standards. To learn how your town can bring inclusive play and fun physical activity to everyone in your community, contact the GameTime representative in your neighborhood.