Stow City inclusion commission reports strong turnout at park pop-up, surveys show accessibility concerns

Stow City’s Commission on Inclusion reported that a community pop-up at Good Station about two weeks earlier drew steady traffic and generated 46 online and printed survey responses that flagged access issues at several parks.

Commission members said the pop-up included a sensory tent and a bubble machine donated by a commissioner, and staff encouraged attendees to take a short survey online or on printed forms. The commission plans to confirm Parks & Recreation’s attendance count for the event and to share compiled survey results with council members representing the wards where concerns were raised.

Members described the responses as focused on physical access: requests for paved pathways, ramps, and more accessible surfacing to allow people who use wheelchairs to reach playgrounds and ball fields. Commissioners cited an earlier access problem at Silver Springs — where the route to a ball field is hard to navigate for people using mobility devices — as the impetus for the outreach.

Next steps discussed included mapping survey comments to council districts, meeting with council members to advocate for targeted improvements, and preparing a packet of findings for Parks & Rec and planning staff. The commission also said it will close the survey at the end of the month and circulate results to members for follow-up.

The discussion was procedural and exploratory; no ordinance or funding decision was made at the meeting. The commission noted the timeframe and budgetary constraints of capital and maintenance work and said some improvements could take multiple years to complete.