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Strang Park cited as model for inclusive playground design
Summary
Staff described Strang Park's multi‑phase process—consultant RFP, three community visioning meetings, steering‑committee input and partnerships—to build an all‑inclusive playground and related programs such as Walk & Read.
Mike Burton presented Strang Park as a development model for universal design. He walked the committee through the multi‑phase approach used there: site visits to other inclusive parks, issuing an RFP, hiring consultant Vireo for design and engagement, three community visioning meetings at the Central Resource Library, steering‑committee sessions that included families and mobility‑challenged participants, and iterative concept development that produced final designs. "We started with three meetings... the first was the visioning exercise," Burton said, describing how public feedback and steering‑committee input narrowed concepts to designs the community could agree on.
Burton also described program elements that accompanied Strang's physical design: a Walk & Read partnership with the central library and Johnson County that installed plaques and rotating stories along a trail; layered play elements for ages 2–5 and 5–12 to encourage sibling interaction; and accessible looped walks and scavenger hunts. He said staff used Strang Park's outreach and consultant selection process to shape future projects. The presentation emphasized community engagement as central to creating parks that serve people with a range of abilities.
