A new park in Franklin has a merry-go-round with seats to safely secure children, slides with rollers so everyone can slide and flooring that feet, wheels and walkers can easily move across.
Unity Park, an inclusive playground in Heron Park off U.S. 31, was built with the goal of being inclusive of all children, including those with disabilities, by a local group of students.
After doing research last year, the mayor’s youth council, a group of Franklin Community High School teens formed to engage with city government and take on special projects that interest them and improve the community, learned that the closest accessible playgrounds in the area were in Greenwood and Bloomington.
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Those playgrounds had large swings and equipment that allowed children with disabilities to play, but they were sectioned off from the rest of the playground. The Franklin group wanted something where all children could play together.
“Those were accessible, not inclusive, meaning that children with disabilities would have to play on a section of the playground or park and wouldn’t be able to play with the other kids,” said Jonathan Ott, Franklin Youth Leadership Council president.
At Unity Park, features include a merry-go-round with seats deep enough to secure a child with disabilities, a slide with rollers for children who can’t use their arms to push themselves and a seesaw made accessible for children in wheelchairs. A key feature is the rubber flooring surface, an alternative to a mulch surface, so wheelchairs can easily access the park. The equipment was made so able-bodied and children with disabilities can play side-by-side.
The group of students has been working on the project for more than a year and the playground opened last week.
The entire project cost $305,000, with $127,000 for the special flooring. The group received $150,000 from the city, covering half of the cost. The rest came from donations and grants.
Emma Beavins, vice president of the council, said fundraising was the biggest obstacle.
“We thought it would be easier to raise the other half of the money, but we just kept reaching out to businesses, applying for grants and talking to as many people as we could,” Beavins said.
Sydnee Tran, president of the Best Buddies program at Franklin Community High School, said the new park is important to people with disabilities and their families.
“Even if they don’t come to it, it means we are thinking of them,” she said.
Ott is glad to finally see the park open and being used.
“It’s really good to finally see all this hard work pay off,” Ott said. “It’s really, really good to see all these kids playing on it, who couldn’t play on parks before.”
Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett said the park was needed in the community.
“There’s been a need for this for several years and over all the years I was on city council, we’ve had lots of people asking, ‘When can we get an inclusive park?’” Barnett said.
The youth council is still accepting donations for the remainder of the park expenses. They have around $60,000 to $75,000 left to raise, Barnett said.
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The Franklin Youth Leadership Council is looking to raise the rest of the funds for the new park.
To make a donation, contact either of the following:
- Johnson County Community Foundation: 317-738-2213
- Franklin Mayor’s office: 317-736-3602
- Franklin Parks and Recreation office: 317-736-3689
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