Austin Plans Its First All Abilities Playground on Onion Creek

Onion Creek Metro Park, where the new playground will be built (courtesy of City of Austin)

Austin is creating its first universally accessible playground, geared toward kids and their caregivers with disabilities and special needs. The Austin Parks Foundation and the city's Parks & Recreation Department are combining forces to build the All Abilities Playground at Onion Creek Metropolitan Park in Southeast Austin.

"Recognizing that most playgrounds aren't designed for everyone, the mission is to create a welcoming, accessible, and inclusive playground where everyone can enjoy the magic of play," the city said in a statement announcing the project. The playground will be designed for multigenerational use so parents and grandparents can play with their kids.

There is no universally recognized definition of "play" but researchers consider it to include activities that are child-led, spontaneous, and fun. The United Nations recognizes play as a right for children and many cultures consider it important to a child's learning and socialization. However, research shows that the design of traditional playgrounds often marginalizes children with disabilities. For example, a playground with a pea gravel surface, like many of those found around Austin, can stop a kid in a wheelchair from engaging in play with other kids. So progressive communities around the country are building playgrounds with new designs.

APF and PARD say the All Abilities Playground they envision will be built to encourage play by people with mobility issues, difficulties with hearing and vision, autism, and intellectual or developmental disabilities. Council Member Vanessa Fuentes is excited that Onion Creek Metro Park, which sits in her district near East Slaughter Lane, has been chosen as the site of the playground.

"The Onion Creek Metro Park is this massive park that doesn't get the attention that it deserves," Fuentes said. "It's over 500 acres – roughly around the same size [as], if not a little bit larger than, Zilker Park. And what I hear from our community is the need for us to have more playgrounds in the area and especially one that is going to be for abilities of all levels. And we'll be able to have grandparents and kids be able to utilize the playground and I think that's a really neat aspect – that it's going to be multigenerational."

The All Abilities Playground is the major part of an ongoing development of Onion Creek Metro Park that APF and PARD say will prioritize environmental sustainability, increasing the accessibility of pristine natural spaces and foregrounding water as a design element. The first step of the project – community engagement – begins on Jan. 18 with a virtual meeting at 6:30pm (you may register at https://t.ly/oFFRf).

"The meeting is just to hear from the community about what they want to see in this park," said APF's Katie Kennedy. "We want to hear from all members of the community, but specifically we want to hear from people who have family members with differing abilities about what would be best for them."