Neosho plans $650k inclusive playground for kids of all abilities

Neosho is preparing to break ground on a new inclusive playground.

Rocketdyne Park will feature equipment designed for people of different ages and abilities to use together.

“That’s all the way from a small child to an adult, whoever would benefit from the playground,” city Public Information Officer Jessica Johnson said.

Johnson told Newstalk KZRG that other city parks include some inclusive equipment, but Rocketdyne Park will be different.

“We do not have another fully inclusive playground," Johnson said. “We have pieces in our other parks that are inclusive, but this is a fully inclusive playground.”

Among the planned equipment is a roller slide designed to accommodate children with cochlear implants.

Johnson said traditional slides can pose problems for some children with implants, while the roller slide uses a different material.

“Just things like that that maybe you wouldn’t think of first off as something that you would need to think about when you’re making a playground,” Johnson said. “We’re able to kind of piece all of those things together so that everyone can play together.”

The playground also will include a swing designed so a parent or grandparent can sit and swing with a child.

“Instead of you having to stand there and push them, you’re swinging like you did when you were a kid and they’re swinging along with you,” Johnson said.

Another planned feature is a rail rider, similar to a zip line, with two parallel tracks. One will feature an ADA-style seat while the other uses a traditional disc-style seat, allowing children with different abilities to ride alongside one another.

Johnson added that children could “race your friend or whatever that may look like, no matter what their ability is.”

The playground also will include an in-ground merry-go-round that sits level with the surrounding surface.

“This one, you can’t fall under it,” Johnson said. “It is level with the ground, which makes it all inclusive so anyone and anything can go onto it.”

The playground will be fully fenced, something Johnson said could provide additional security for families with children who are prone to wandering or running away.

Rocketdyne Park will include more than the playground.

Plans call for an accessible splash pad, a pavilion with restrooms and pickleball courts. The city also wants to eventually convert old golf cart paths on the property into walking trails.

The park is being developed on unused portions of the former Neosho Golf Course including land from nine holes that closed around 2011.

“We’re just finally utilizing that land that has been untouched for so long,” Johnson said.

Funding remains one of the biggest hurdles.

Johnson said Neosho has committed $468,000 toward the playground, while its total estimated cost is about $650,000.

That price includes equipment, fencing, signs and other pieces needed to complete the playground.

“There are still gaps right now,” Johnson said, adding that the city is applying for several grants and meeting with groups and organizations that could partner on the project.

A city committee is raising money specifically for the playground. Neosho also is pursuing grants for other parts of the park, including the splash pad.

Johnson said officials hope to break ground in early spring and complete as much of the project as possible at once.