New Watsessing Park all-access playground is special needs, autism-friendly – NorthJersey.com

Essex County’s newest playground is a marvel.

It is 15,000 square feet and provides something that most other playgrounds don’t — inclusivity.

The park was built with special-needs children of all kinds in mind. Here, gently sloped ramps and large landings provide enough space for children in wheelchairs to enjoy the jungle gym and venture higher onto the structure than was possible in the past, said Doug Hopper, who served as the project manager for the park.

Hopper works for Remington & Vernick Engineers, the engineering company that designed the playground in Watsessing Park. 

“The intent was to be all-inclusive so all the kids could play together,” Hopper said.

The playground is not the first to provide equipment for children with special needs, but it is the first park in Essex County developed for children of all physical and developmental abilities. Similar parks are planned for Lodi and Rutherford in Bergen County and proposed in Wayne in Passaic County, though there has been some push-back from residents in Wayne because of the park’s location.

“Though we’ve made efforts in the redesign of some of our playgrounds to include some components, this has by default, more components so that more children can play together,” said Kate Hartwyk, the deputy director of Essex County Parks. “We expect it’s going to be a destination for groups of all abilities to come and play together.”

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The upgrades to Watsessing Park, which is just off of Bloomfield Avenue in Bloomfield, are just the beginning. Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said as they move forward upgrading other parks, they will consider what all-access equipment they can place in the playgrounds.

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“I’m not saying they’re going to have everything like this has, but they’re going to be more inclusive,” DeVincenzo said.

All-access features

• In addition to the ramps and landings, the park provides visual, auditory and tactile surface features for children at lower-than-usual heights. Hopper said the park was designed that way to allow children who are not walking, who aren’t upright or are in wheelchairs to enjoy them. 

“Everybody’s disabilities are different,” said Joseph Petrongolo, who helped design the park. “It’s not perfect but we’re trying, and it’s getting better every day.”

• Each landing area features at least three different stimuli for children, including tic-tac-toe and a set of musical pipes.
• Near a shady spot, children can spin wheels and listen to the sounds of beads rolling around or watch a rainbow fly by. One slide is made up of rollers, providing a different feel than typical plastic slides. The variety lets children with differing abilities find their own way to have fun.  
• A second shaded area encompasses an instrument section and a cool-down station. Children can bang on bongos and play the xylophone while being sprayed by a cool mist.

• There are five kinds of swings placed low to the ground, allowing parents to move a child from a wheelchair onto the swing. One swing allows parent and child (or two children) to be seated across from each other. Another has a buckle for safety. Sandwiched in between are toddler swings and traditional swings, so siblings and friends can swing together, no matter what their mobility is.

“Many families have special-needs children and children that are typical,” said Petrongolo. “They can play together and that’s important.”

The playground is a project near and dear to Petrongolo’s heart. His 16-year-old son has autism and sometimes must use a wheelchair.

He said the integration allows typical children to understand that differently-abled people aren’t strange — and aren’t even all that different.

“I think it opens up every opportunity,” Petrongolo said. “You’re able to be here with your friends, and that’s so important.”

Richard Sanchez and his 4-year-old daughter, Jaylen, were enjoying the playground Monday and he said it was great that the park allows children of all abilities to access all the equipment.

“That’s the way it should be,” he said.

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