Albert “Ray” Massey (Westside) Park Playground re-opens this Friday
Press release from the City of Gainesville
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Beginning this Friday, March 31, children can play on a fully inclusive playground at Albert “Ray” Massey Park (1001 NW 34th Street)! Accessible play surfacing and a colorful theme boost imaginative play within the fenced playground.
Inspired by the NW 8th Avenue Solar Walk public art installation, the new space-themed playground offers physical, social, and sensory play experiences for children of all ages and abilities. The playground area now includes a restroom and lighting! The new restroom will be available for use beginning Monday, April 3. Click here to view photos of the new playground.
The construction cost for the project was $2,024,824.37. Scherer Construction of North Florida, LLC facilitated the work.
An event to celebrate the new playground will be announced in the near future.
Facing a budget deficit looking ahead to increase Taxes fire assessments and still spend money like they still have a gold mine
Who was being excluded to warrant the “inclusive” label?
Went there as a child, as a parent and a grandparent – never saw anyone being excluded.
Well, my younger sister for one. She’s excited about the wheelchair-accessible swings and merry go round. She couldn’t even get from the parking lot though the mulch to the playground in her chair, let alone ride anything. So maybe the reason you never saw anyone being excluded is that those kids knew there was nothing for them and stayed home.
Good your sister will feel included now and I hope she finds true enjoyment. From what your saying, some kids may have instead excluded themselves due to lack of equipment – not excluded because of any purposeful denial.
Further reinforcement that where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Back in my day we carried our wheel chairs to the playground and were happy to watch the other kids swing and play.
What on earth is a “fully inclusive” playground? Woke speak but what does it mean?
It accommodates children with disabilities who can’t access typical playground equipment.
Thank you Jennifer for your kind response.
Maybe when you asked your question, you could have also been kind. The phrase “woke speak” is pejorative and shows bias on your part. You could have asked without that.
New playgrounds are nice to have when the budget allows, but my kids and wife agree that this particular playground still had years of life in it.
Since disabled people pay taxes too, they should get public accommodation where reasonable, but perhaps this could have been done as an add-on to all the parks and incorporated to the design of necessary replacements and for new parks. Yet, the city communists and voters who elect them are blinded by regressiveness and wokeness and are not able to comprehend financial stewardship. No, they want to tax this city into San-Francisco-scale ruin.
It should be noted this project was funded by the Wild Spaces Public Spaces voter approved sales tax and not general revenues. A place where all children can play. Not a bad use of those funds from my perspective.
Parks funding is a voter approved amenity. We need to put more things on the ballot, when more people vote.
Rode my bicycle by the park the other day and let me tell you these guys have done a FANTASTIC job! This will be a great place for kids to play for decades to come.
It’s a wonderful renovation to an existing park and hopefully will be not only beneficial but appreciated as well.
The Wild Spaces and Public Places Tax wording needs to be reworked. Change it so the city/county can not use the funds to purchase more properties until existing properties have been properly renovated/repaired. They continue to purchase properties thereby taking the tax revenues from the landowner and passing it to the residents, yet more often than not, the landowner is the true beneficiary by establishing a “buffer” against further encroachment of development or an all-out purchase of land the governing authorities refuse to allow development of. Then there’s the occasional “giveaway” of land with the condition the State gains ownership but the “grantor” maintains the ability to continue using the property. The end result is the same, the resident taxpayers’ taxes go up to maintain the tax revenues lost.
The city and county can barely maintain the properties they currently oversee because of manpower constraints and many voters continue to vote tax increases for themselves.
Can you spell S T U P I D?