Plainfield residents are being asked to help guide the park district on providing greater accessibility to its facilities for those with special needs.

A group of residents came to a community engagement session Aug. 10 to voice their concerns on what changes the Plainfield Park District should prioritize at its parks, trails and facilities to meet residents’ needs covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Plainfield resident Christy Paleczny, whose son is a full-time wheelchair user, said her biggest issues are related to building accessibility, parking, and restrooms.

“Riverwalk Park has an accessible walkway, but the park itself is not accessible,” she said.

Mulch is not accessible for her son as a wheelchair user.

“A wheelchair will get stuck on that surface,” Paleczny said. “The structure itself does not have a ramp on or off.”

Furthermore, she said, if a [disabled] child can manage to get to the park, they cannot get on or off the playground itself.

John McGovern, a principal lead with WT Engineering, an engineering consulting firm that has aided more than 500 parks and recreation departments across the country on ADA compliance, said, “sometimes the requirements are not so crystal clear.”

He said, “We also do a fair amount of inclusion policies help agencies figure out the right way to invite persons with disabilities to ask for modifications, how to analyze the request, and fulfill the request.”

In addressing Paleczny’s concerns, McGovern said, “Access is accomplished for wheelchair users by transferring onto the system and dragging themselves up to the deck. This is very difficult to do. Most people I know who use a wheelchair can’t do it or won’t do it for dignity reasons.”

“The ADA act recognizes that there are a number of quiet biases regarding people with disabilities. They shouldn’t have to jump through an administrative hoop that other people don’t have to jump through.”

—   John McGovern, principal lead with WT Engineering

Paleczny also suggested adding family restrooms with adult changing tables in the park facilities.

“I know families that don’t go out because they will not have restroom access,” she said.

Alexa Cicero, a Plainfield resident with an 11-year-old son with autism, said she is unable to take her son out to park facilities for long durations without a male companion so that he can accompany her son to a restroom.

“As moms, you want to be able to take your kids out, and not have to wait for dad to come home,” she added. “It’s not fair.”

The online survey is also available for residents to complete at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/plainfieldparkdistrict. To date, 42 residents have registered their responses.

“The ADA act recognizes that there are a number of quiet biases regarding people with disabilities,” McGovern said. “They shouldn’t have to jump through an administrative hoop that other people don’t have to jump through.”

Project manager Tanya Scheibe with W-T Engineering, explained that “we looked at all sites within the park district, trails, and facilities utilizing a digital app and checklist to measure slopes, doorways, and everything in between” are within ADA compliance.

“Restrooms have a lot of technical details that need to be met so it is very common to find errors in restrooms,” she said.

Many of the playgrounds that were analyzed met the scoping and technical requirements, Scheibe said.

Now McGovern said, we are looking for input from the community to determine which parks should be prioritized.

Spreading the accessible parks across the four quadrants that make up the Plainfield Park District is key, Park District Executive Director Carlo Capalbo said.

Some items found will be quickly addressed because they can be adjusted by staff in a short time—other action items will require prioritizing time.

“Many of the adjustments will be done in the first one to three years,” he said.

A typical playground life span is about 20 years, so as parks are replaced they will be redone with ADA accessibility, Capalbo said.

Many parks built prior to the enactment of the ADA, which became law in 1990, were without any paths.

“Dirt and grass are never an accessible surface,” McGovern said.

For Cicero’s son who has sensory issues, she said he prefers parks that are quiet and peaceful, the kind of facility the park district recently approved to build.

Bob Collins, director of planning with Plainfield Park District, shared that the park will be located at Van Horn Woods, a large community park that straddles Lily Cache Creek north of Caton Farm Road and south of Route 30.

“The play area will be surrounded by an Omega Fence to allow for easier supervision. The play area will feature a main structure with some traditional play elements, as well as ground level under deck play spaces, a sphere for sensory interaction, a spinner, a rocking rider, and a sensory dome with various small spaces and interactive elements,” Collins said.

It also will include a swing area that includes a tot, belt, and friendship swing with musical elements, he said.