New “playground for all” dedication, free food and fun activities planned
Bensenville, Ill.—The Bensenville Park District is reopening Breiter-Palm Park in style with a grand opening celebration featuring a dedication, free food and fun activities planned from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 18. The dedication, scheduled for 10:30 a.m., will feature park district commissioners and local leaders. Activities will include a bubble table, scavenger hunt, nature-based sensory table, a bird-feeder craft, clay station, a flower craft and wildflower planting.
The park, located on Church Road south of Memorial Drive, has been closed for nearly a year to install a new “playground for all” intended to be community gathering place for children of all abilities to enjoy.
“The park district’s goal is to improve the quality of life for all of our residents on a daily basis,” says Bensenville Park District Executive Director Joseph C. Vallez. “The plans for this ADA-enhanced playground project came out of an October 2020 meeting between the park district and the local special needs community. The new playground will allow children with many different abilities to grow and play with each other.”
The new playground features pour-in-place rubber playground surfacing, which meets all Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, making it possible for anyone in a wheelchair or mobility device access to playground amenities. In addition to the playground structure itself, the new park will have abundant play components that promote sensory, motor, cognitive, and social-emotional skills, as well as strength. The following equipment, made by Landscape Structures, has been installed to promote these skills: Rhapsody™ Kettle Drum, Rhapsody™ Vito Metallophone, Rhapsody™ Cascata Bells, a Bobble Rider, Sway Fun Glider, We-Saw, WhirlyQ™ Spinner and Cozy Dome™ DB.
The neighborhood park also features a natural education area, a walking path with newly-installed fitness equipment and a new picnic shelter. The permeated-paver parking lot was also expanded to accommodate vans and larger vehicles bringing groups of people with special needs and mobility devices. New LED lighting was also installed.
The Breiter-Palm Park improvements cost $462,652.79. The project architect is JSD, Inc., of Des Plaines, and the contractor is Integral Construction, Inc., of Romeoville.
