HARLINGEN — The first of the city’s eagerly awaited all-inclusive playgrounds could be ready for action within days.
Parks Superintendent Jeff Lyssy told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board yesterday the three $1.3 million playground overhauls are pretty much in place.
“The all-inclusive playgrounds, if you haven’t noticed, are flying up everywhere — all three are complete,” Lyssy said. “The one at Lon C. Hill, for the most part, is done.
“We actually laid sod around it,” he added. “One thing we need to do is bring in an ADA-compliant sidewalk and do a curb cut there.
“And once that’s complete, probably in the next couple weeks, we’ll open that playground up to the general public,” he said.
Harlingen’s ground-breaking drive for all-inclusive playgrounds which can be used by all children regardless of special needs puts it in the forefront of cities investing in public accommodations for all children.
Other all-inclusive playgrounds should be open soon at Pendleton Park and Victor Park.
“The one at Pendleton Park is really close to being done as well,” Lyssy said. “And the one at Victor Park is pretty much complete in terms of constructing the playground — the safety surfacing still has to be installed.”
The Lon C. Hill playground was funded with a $425,000 grant from the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation and another $100,000 from Harlingen attorney Rollins M. Koppel.
The playground will be named the Amalie L. (Amy) Koppel All-Inclusive Playground in memory of Koppel’s wife, who was a teacher.
The Lon C. Hill playground measures 125 feet by 100 feet, and was manufactured to the city’s specifications by a company called Miracle Playground, which also installed the playground equipment.
The playgrounds at Pendleton and Victor parks cost $800,000, which was split between the city and the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District.
All the playgrounds are tailored to include special-needs children in the play areas, and will offer mazes, platforms, slides, swings and more — all of them handicapped-accessible.
