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Wilsonville intern inventories park accessibility features to expand online park guides
Summary
A high-school intern presented a city project to document park amenities and accessibility features across about 18 parks; the information will be added to the Parks & Recreation website to help visitors decide which park meets their needs and to reduce information requests to city staff.
An intern working with Wilsonville’s administration presented a parks-accessibility project during the Aug. 4 work session that aims to expand the city’s online park pages with detailed, site-specific information on amenities and accessibility features. The work was presented by Arush Goswami, a rising senior and summer intern in the administration department.
Project goals and approach: Goswami said the project has two goals: first, to enhance the parks pages on the city website so visitors can quickly see what amenities and accessibility features each park offers; and second, to help residents and visitors determine whether a park meets their needs before they travel there. The intern described a four-step workflow: visit each park and survey its features; record and photograph amenities and accessibility attributes; compile findings for roughly 18 parks; and update the Parks & Recreation website with the results.
Data collected and sample details: The intern said the inventory captures parking (distance from key amenities, number of ADA parking spaces), restroom counts and capacities, picnic tables and whether they accommodate wheelchair access, trail types and surfacing (paved, boardwalk, gravel), playground types, water fountains and small field spaces. Goswami showed an example for Canyon Creek Park, noting details such as “1 ADA spot” and “about a 100 foot walk from the parking lot to the key seating and bathroom area,” plus a breakdown of table counts, surface materials and trail surfacing.
Council feedback: Councilors praised the work and suggested additions. Council President Berry recommended considering a rating or difficulty indicator for trails so visitors can select trails that match ability levels; Councilor Shadlin encouraged adding photos to the park pages; others said the project could reduce calls to city staff by providing readily accessible information online.
Next steps: Goswami said he is completing step three (compiling findings) and plans to proceed to updating the website in the coming days. The parks department and city staff will incorporate his photos and the compiled data into the Parks & Recreation pages.
Ending: Council members commended the intern and said the project both improves access to information for park users and provides useful hands-on experience for the student.
