AURORA, Colo. — Aurora is breaking ground on a project they’ve been working on for over a year: the city’s first inclusive playground.
The spot in Red-tailed Hawk Park in the southeastern part of Aurora will have everything you’re used to seeing in a playground, including slides, swings and ziplines. But, it will also have features accessible to kids in wheelchairs and walkers.
The project was inspired by Ashaun Ramsey. The 8-year-old is bound to a wheelchair and suffers from shaken baby syndrome.
He wanted to play with his friends like everyone else, so his family and the Make-A-Wish Foundation worked with the city to make that happen.
“What they’ve really done is open the eyes and hearts of not just the Aurora design staff, but the whole community,” said Tracy Young with Aurora Parks, Recreation and Open Space. “We’re now able to understand what it means to be inclusive, and how important it is for all kids to have a place to play together and just be kids.”
The project is supposed to cost $1.2 million. About $700,000 of that comes from grants and donations.
The playground is slated to be open by early July.
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