Roseville opens accessible parks

By Dan King
CNS Staff Writer

While in many public venues, access for people with disabilities has improved over the last few decades, all too often, access has meant nothing more than meeting the minimum requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

But the City of Roseville is going beyond the legal mandates and welcoming disabled residents to its outdoor facilities. Roseville’s Project Play has committed to building three universally accessible parks in three different regions of the city.

The idea is to make the parks enjoyable for all children, regardless of abilities.

Some of the features include ramps, hard-backed swings and “sensory fun” areas where children can make noise and feel textures. Cushioned rubber surfaces replace the usual sand and bark, allowing wheelchair access to the entire play structure.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that of the 2,122 disabled children aged 5-15 in Placer County in 2006, almost 60 percent live in Roseville.

Roseville resident Jackie DeMuth was a driving force in convincing the city to back universal access to playgrounds.

Her granddaughter, Zoie Digne, was born eight years ago with cerebral palsy and only weighed 1 pound 10 ounces.

“We saw her watching other kids doing things that she couldn’t do,” DeMuth said. “It was a process coming to grips with her disability, and the process included doing something for Zoie.”

They considered a swing set in the backyard, but it wouldn’t give Zoie a chance to interact with other children.

DeMuth discovered a non-profit called Shane’s Inspiration, whose mission is to eliminate bias against children with disabilities. They do so by helping to create universally accessible playgrounds and organize programs for children with disabilities to interact with children without special needs.

She brought the idea to create an accessible playground to the Roseville City Council in May 2007. Less than two years later, the first of the three planned playgrounds was opened to the public.

“My husband and I are thrilled to live in a community so willing to help others,” DeMuth said. “They have been so generous and so anxious to help.”

Councilman John Allard has served on the universal playground steering committee during the parks’ development. He says the speed with which the committee raised the funds and opened the first structure speaks volumes about the Roseville community.

“I’ve gotten tremendous comments and support from everyone,” he said. “I have not received any negative comments.”

Councilwoman Carol Garcia also serves on the playground steering committee.

“In these tough economic times, it is important for our residents to know the funds did not come out of the general fund,” she said. “The public funds that have gone into these parks came from various public grants, and the rest was raised from private donations.”

Jeff Dubchansky, assistant parks & recreation director, is the project manager for Roseville’s Project Play. He said public funds have contributed $1 million to designing, building and maintaining these parks. The projected cost for all three parks is $2.2 million. So far $790,000 of the needed $1.2 million has been privately raised.

Wesley Lujan, director of public affairs for Union Pacific was responsible for donating $30,000 from the Union Pacific Grant.

“It’s important for all children to get to play like other kids,” he said. “Secondly, our employees live in the area and we wanted to be part of such a strong public and private partnership.”

The three playgrounds are spread across the city, with one in Maidu Park at the southern end, one in Mahany Park in the north end and one in Royer Park in the downtown area. The Maidu playground opened to the public in late March and will have its grand opening celebration on May 2. The first part of Mahany Park’s playground is scheduled to open June 25.

“It’s great the parks are in three different sections of the city, serving not only Roseville but other areas,” DeMuth said. “Maidu also serves children with special needs in Orangevale and Granite Bay. Mahany can serve Antelope, Rocklin and Lincoln.”