A reason for hope: Special needs accessible park coming to Frisco

Visiting a public park is a common occurrence for children, but not all parks are created equal. Most parks aren't always suitable playgrounds for children with special needs, for instance, due to their designs.

Parents of children with special needs will soon have a park they can take their children without fear when Hope Park, a public park being specifically designed for children with special needs in mind, opens in Frisco. The idea for the park originated from Jenni Jensen, president of the non-profit organization behind Hope Park, who has a six-year-old daughter with Down syndrome.

"The idea for Hope Park came to me because my youngest daughter Nora, who has Down syndrome, broke her leg and was confined to a wheelchair for six weeks," Jensen said. "In that time I got a glimpse of what [some] families to through everyday -- my daughter could not play with her brothers and sister at the park! It broke my heart to think some children just couldn't play together at the park [and instead] just have to watch."

Hope Park will feature numerous accommodations for children with special needs, including rubber flooring instead of mulch and equipment that is lower to the ground for easier wheelchair accessibility.

"Kids in wheelchairs, kids in walkers and kids that have a bit of a stability problem will be able to go through the park without any problems whatsoever," said Rene' Sinclair, vice president of the Hope Park Frisco board of directors. "Grandparents in wheelchairs or walkers will benefit from this too -- it's completely accessible to all people."

The park won't just be for children with special needs, however. Typical park equipment will also exist, such as monkey bars, climbing rocks and other features.

Inclusion for kids of all ages and abilities is a priority of the park, in fact. Instead of creating a park solely for children with special needs, the Hope Park board of directors is aiming to create a park where children of all backgrounds will be able to play together.

"We're building a playground for all kids where everybody can come together, but there's a focused consideration on special needs kids," Sinclair said. "I have two children, and my younger child is in a wheelchair, so now we'll have a place where my kids can play together. All Frisco parks the standard ADA accessibility requirements, but this is going to go above and beyond any standard requirements."

While the park was originally planned to be built elsewhere, a recent agreement with the city of Frisco will place it in Frisco Commons.

"The way the park is going to be set in Frisco Commons is it will be right between the pavilion and bathrooms that exist right now and the another set of pavilions and picnic tables and bathrooms the city is creating," Sinclair explained. "So will be plenty of access to restrooms, drinking fountains and pavilions."

In addition to the amenities outside Hope Park, a series of handicap-accessible picnic tables will also be available within the park in an area referred to as "picnic alley."

The 17,000-square-foot park has already obtained 20 percent of its funding, but is still looking for additional donations. Businesses and individuals interested in sponsorship opportunities can contact Sinclair for options, such as branded pickets for the park's fences, engraved bricks and park equipment plaques.

Ground breaking for the park is expected to take place later this year. Concrete will be poured and land development will take place before the end of the year, then in March a "build week" will take place, which will involve members of the community.

"We'll have a six-day community build event where we ask for volunteers in the community to come out and put hammer to nail to help us build the playground," Sinclair said. "This isn't something that comes out of the box or is a pre-built; it's actually a completely custom-built playground that has been designed just for us."

If all goes according to schedule, the park should be ready for an April 2013 opening. Jensen said the park has already seen an outpouring of support from the community.

"I started spreading the word about what I wanted to do and people just loved the idea, especially parents of children with special needs," she said. "I am so thankful for all of the support we have had on this amazing journey!"

Hope Park represents a step forward in special needs parks for the city, but the planning process has proven the park will have benefits that aren't physically visible, Sinclair said.

"We started this journey all about the kids, but it's really turned into so much more," she said. "We've been able to connect a lot of special needs families with each other so they don't feel so alone. They can now find other families that are going through the same things they're going through."

For more information on Hope Park, visit its website at www.hopeparkfrisco.org or find it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hopeparkfrisco.

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