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The first park of its kind in San Jose officially opened last month, one of many the city hopes to open in the coming years.
Staff from City of San Jose and Berryessa Union School District celebrated the grand opening of the Berryessa Creek Park playground Sept. 19.
The playground is San Jose's first such facility to go beyond accessibility requirements for disabled children.
Termed a "boundless playground," the play structure is wheelchair accessible so disabled children can play and interact with fully-abled children.
Along with ramps to higher elevated features of the play structure, the playground also has specialized swings and a seesaw, among other features.
The play structure's ground is a soft, foam-like rubber so wheelchairs can travel easily through the park.
"Today is a great example of the city providing a wonderful experience and playground for all of our children," Berryessa schools Superintendent Marc Liebman said.
"This is just a prototype," he added. "It's not the only one we're going to see. The city's parks department is looking at how to put one in other locations in Berryessa."
Julie Edmonds-Mares, the city's assistant director of the parks and recreation department, said the playground would not just benefit disabled children, but all of the city's youth.
"The playground is a great opportunity for residents to stay fit and healthy," she said. "It's a boundless structure and we're glad to be working with the community to provide
San Jose Vice Mayor Dave Cortese said the city's parks department is trying to add the community at large to several developments and bring a sense of unity to neighborhoods.
He said this "boundless playground" was a good first step in doing so.
"Neighbors all over San Jose have concerns of accessibility not only in playgrounds, but on curbs and sidewalks and other points of accessibility," he said. "This wheelchair-accessible playground will help bring those points out in the open."
Along with a "boundless playground" the school district and the parks and recreation department partnered with the city's public arts program to create three pieces of art that will look much like dandelions.
The head of the blooming flower will be made of large crystals which will refract rainbow patterns across the plaza adjacent to the playground.
Ena Osteraas Constable, the Wowhaus artist who created the design, said she was glad to have community input when creating the artwork.
"We're lucky in this community to have a relationship with the neighborhood and the park and recreation department to create something where there are both parks and open space," she said. "It's great to see the kids enjoying this."
