Rockford's Davis Park to be home of playground where no child will feel left out

Eric Brown can remember the anxiety he felt at recess back when he was a kid at Rockford's Westview Elementary School.

The playground where his friends ran and climbed and swung was surrounded by a thick wooden border. It was a simple hop onto the wood chips for them, but a near impossible balancing act and step down for a kid with cerebral palsy.

As part of a planned $10.5 million renovation of Davis Park, Rockford officials are planning a 6,000-square-foot universally designed destination playground that should never leave a child on the outside looking in.

Officials say it is expected to go beyond merely accessible and could become a regional draw for families with children of various ability levels.

Now 38, Brown, the systems advocacy coordinator for RAMP, said that — to the credit of parents, school staff and Rockford Public Schools administrators — the playground at Westview was renovated before his time there was over.

He was finally able to play with his friends without the worry.

"I always remember being in elementary school and going, 'I can't, by myself, step onto these woodchips without feeling like I'm going to fall.'" Brown said. "And I remember them making some changes so that I could step onto the playground without feeling insecure. I just remember that feeling of my friends going on the playground, wanting to go too and now that it's built in an accessible way, I'm able to do that."

More: Construction begins at Rockford's Davis Park. Here's what's being done

Brown said children no longer have to grow up feeling left out.

The renovations at Davis Park at 320 S. Wyman St. are meant to turn an underutilized asset along the banks of the Rock River into the city's central gathering point for fun, entertainment and relaxation.

Paid for with a mix of local and state funds, plans call for a covered pavilion that can serve as an event space or stage, a great lawn, flex lawn, multiuse paths, the playground and support buildings for restrooms, storage and concessions. The plan also includes a skateboard park that would be located slightly apart from the rest of the park south of the railroad tracks.

Long a pastoral park of lawns and open space along the Rock River, adding a playground has the power to transform Davis Park said J. Blue, a landscape architect with SmithGroup, a design company working on the project.

Part of the goal is to make as much of the playground universally designed as possible — a step beyond being merely compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Being universally designed would mean not only can someone with a disability have an access point, but there is virtually no differentiation between ability levels.

For example, a child in a wheelchair would be able to simply roll onto a merry-go-round that would be at-grade level. There would be no barrier for a child walking with a crutch to navigate over or down to reach the playground. Swings might come equipped with a belt so that someone can use the swing with or without the belt depending on their ability level.

But it is the playground itself that will have the power to change a park where before people had to make their own recreation, Blue said.

Now families who live nearby may want to visit daily, those that live further away may want to come every week.

"The intent is to make this a space that people can actually recreate in," Blue said. "It's really difficult to recreate in just sort of big lawn space. You can throw a Frisbee in it and kind of picnic in it, but in reality, this is going to change the character of Davis Park and all of a sudden Davis Park is going to be this great downtown flagship park space."

City Administrator Todd Cagnoni said the city is working with designers and representatives from the Rockford Area Venues and Entertainment Authority, Rockford Park District and Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau to develop the design.

They have not yet designed specific playground equipment or a theme for the playground. Perhaps it could play on the city's manufacturing heritage or its proximity to the river.

Cagnoni said officials will consult with families who have children with disabilities to get their input before settling on specific design elements.

"The beauty of all this is it's universal design so that it's usable by everybody, not just one group," Cagnoni said. "Anyone can use the merry-go-round. Anyone could use the zip line. It's just built in such a way that it's more inclusive."

Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at  (815) 987-1374, via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on Twitter @jeffkolkey.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford's Davis Park to get universally designed playground