Snow Creek Park had its grand re-opening featuring its new all-inclusive playground with fully accessible features like ramps and ground-level equipment on Sept. 24.
The ceremony celebrated the completion of the project’s first phase out of three, which centered on building the playground as the park’s foundation of accessibility improvements.
“It’s really exciting—not just for me, but for the whole city of Walnut—especially because this is the first fully accessible and inclusive department we have here in Walnut. I’m really excited to be a part of this project and see it come to life. Having some sort of amenity for our community that includes everyone is really great,” Walnut City Council member Kaylee Law said.
This project is an extensive one, with its first phase spanning the last five years. Brainstorming began in 2020, and the funds were finally appropriated last December. The last nine months have been dedicated to constructing the playground.
“One of the things that we felt as staff was missing here in our community was a playground designed with accessibility at its forefront. When we took into mind the age of the previous park that was here, [we realized that] it needed to be replaced, and so we thought, ‘What better opportunity to build a playground for everybody?’” Director of Public Works Melissa Barcelo said.
The ultimate goal of this project is to get the entire park up to ADA accessibility guidelines. City council members partnered with inclusive expert Jill Moore, who is a Paralympian and wheelchair user herself, to design a playground that serves children of all abilities.
“[Moore] got to design a playground that’s not just for a wheelchair user or somebody who has a mobility device. It’s really for everybody, so that you could play side by side with all children,” Barcelo said. *trying to get quote from jill moore*
Phase one of the project was primarily geared towards the playground. Phase two construction, which involves the southern portion of the park, started on Sept. 29. The city council plans to redo the walkways and stairs to ensure that there are ADA compliant pathways to all of the park’s amenities, not just the playground. During phase three, the restroom building will be replaced with easy accessibility in mind and a picnic area will also be added.
“We had an extensive design process and went through many revisions. We were able to expand the blueprint to make it a lot bigger than it was before, so it was a long process but definitely rewarding,” Barcelo said.
The funding for this project came from a variety of sources. The council used park money from the City of Walnut, money designed specifically for park enhancements, as well as COVID-19 relief money or American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money. Furthermore, the city received a $250,000 grant from California State Assembly member Lisa Calderon to aid with funding.
“I am extremely proud of this project and seeing all the kids here today, enjoying it, children of all abilities and all ages running around and enjoying the park together,” Barcelo said. “It really is a proud moment in my career here, so I’m thankful and happy to see it come to light.”
