Individuals living with disabilities now have a new recreational facility available to them in the city of Edinburg.
The city inaugurated their first all-inclusive park on Friday which was completed earlier this month in partnership with the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation and Vanguard Academy Charter School.
The Vanguard Academy Beethoven City Park will cater to individuals with disabilities by including all-inclusive equipment such as the first “We-Go” swing, which can accommodate wheelchairs, in the entire state of Texas.
The park, located at 2215 S. Veterans Blvd., also has a fully ramped access playscape which will allow individuals with a wheelchair or walker to reach the top of the slide, according to Marissa Pecina, a representative for ExerPlay, a company that designs and builds outdoor recreation equipment.
While accessible to individuals with disabilities, the park will be open to those without disabilities as well.
“Today we celebrate a place where kids with and without disabilities can come together and cultivate diverse friendships where we learn from one another that different is not less,” Pecina said. “May what we have initiated today on this playground transcend to other areas of our community as we acknowledge that we are stronger together and that by placing disability issues at the forefront of design, planning and strategizing we ensure that everyone in our community is represented and valued.”
Assistant City Manager Tom Reyna, who spearheaded the project, said the park will continue to grow.
“Come mid-April, restrooms will be available,” Reyna said. “We’re going to have the first adult changing tables in our restrooms so anybody full size will be able to have change restrooms in our family restrooms.”
Additionally, the park is expected to have sidewalks and a 1-mile trail, according to the project information listed on the city of Edinburg’s capital projects dashboard.
The project details also list the total budget as $601,897 which was funded by the EEDC.
Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. stressed the importance of partnerships in making projects like the construction of the park a possibility.
“We’re here as a city of Edinburg to serve our community, to make amenities like this possible,” Garza said.
Pecina also noted how their unity was allowing them to break new ground in the city.
“Today not only marks a day that we open this inclusive park but it is a day that together, we break barriers and shatter stigmas,” Pecina said. “We give hope to our future generations by setting the foundation for an inclusive tomorrow.”
