Lincoln City Parks & Recreation (LCP&R) is honored to receive $100k from the Oregon Tourism Commission (aka Travel Oregon) for the construction of the 1st accessible playground in Lincoln City, which is part of the planned development of a new community park in the historic Taft District.
The development and construction of the 6.71-acre new community park is stated as the #1 goal of the 2016 Lincoln City Parks System Plan and will address a recreation gap in the southern part of Lincoln City. The park will offer new amenities to residents and visitors including an accessible playground, sports facilities, covered event area, playground, picnic areas and other gathering spaces. Travel Oregon recently announced $3.6 million in grant funding to 56 recipients across Oregon to fund accessible and inclusive tourism projects. Fifteen grants totaling more than $1 million went to organizations on the coast.
Jeanne Sprague, LCP&R Director, comments on the recent new funding:
“We are honored to receive this funding from Travel Oregon, especially for supporting our accessible playground, which will be one of the 1st of its kind on the Oregon Coast. Park construction is being phased in accordance to available funding and budget, and Travel Oregon is a big assist to us. Together, we will be welcoming visitors to come to our park and play!”
Travel Oregon’s 2023 Competitive Grants Program centers funding through an equity lens around accessibility and inclusivity for underserved and under-resourced communities. Their impactful grant reflects the agency’s ongoing commitment to equity and to enhancing local economies, creating jobs and strengthening communities across the state by investing in the creation and promotion of remarkable visitor experiences.
The Lincoln City accessible playground will address the needs of all people to offer a remarkable experience, challenging them at their own developmental level. The principles of an inclusive playground include safe, active, comfortable, and independent play, for all ages and abilities. There will be different levels of the same type of play activity near each other, i.e. spinning, sliding or swinging.
Jeanne Sprague, LCP&R Director, comments on the importance of accessibility in public parks and spaces. “Our mission includes providing access to our parks, beach accesses, and open spaces, removing or mitigating any obstacles for visitors with mobility or sensory restrictions. This includes constructing accessible playgrounds. Lincoln City Parks & Rec is thrilled that Travel Oregon has joined us in our commitment to accommodate any person needing accessibility. We are proud to have shown this commitment via our recently implemented ‘Beach Mobility Access’ program in which 4 beach wheelchairs and 450 ft of Mobi-Mat were installed at various beach accesses within Lincoln City. We continue to strive to be more accessible throughout Lincoln City.”
Along with the generous funding from the Christmas Cottage in Lincoln City for the playground’s musical instrument installation, Sprague said the City planned to break ground in the summer of 2024 for Phase 1 of park development which includes ground site work and the construction of the accessible playground. Sprague says that community support, which includes funding from State Bill 5202 (championed by Rep. Gomberg and Senator Anderson), Oregon Parks and Recreation Dept, and a bequeath from the William Bryd Upjohn Estate, is greatly assisting with the phased construction of the new park.
Representative David Gomberg states: “I’m convinced the new Community Park in LC will become a staple of this community, providing much-needed recreational space, opportunities for our kids, and new business opportunities for the Central Coast. This is a visionary use of the space and we’ll see the results for decades to come.” For continued updates on the new community park in Lincoln City, see https://www.lincolncity.org/departments/parks-recreation/new-community-park-development-plan
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