The green on the trees isn't limited to moss and lichens, slashes of sun-yellow daffodils and crimson tulips color every other yard, and sometimes the sky seems more blue than gray. In other words, spring has arrived in Portland. Since it isn't raining every minute of every day, and highs can get into the fifties, people are starting to venture out of the house again. Between the lengthening days and Daylight Savings Time, there can even be enough sunlit hours to brave a trip to the park. Sure, it means packing up the kid into the car/stroller/bike, bringing toys to keep them occupied (and a thermos of something to keep you warm), but once you get there, at least they will be able to have fun...that is, unless you or your child uses a wheelchair.
If someone in your family does rely on a wheelchair for transportation, then you have only seven totally accessible parks available to you, all but three in Southeast. By totally accessible, by the way, I mean they have an accessible playground, bathroom and picnic area, as the number jumps to thirty three parks if you don't care about an accessible picnic area. However, the inclusion of one sightly higher table-top means that a family that includes a person in a wheelchair can play, use the restroom and have lunch in much the same way as a family comprised solely of able-bodied folks could. For those who don't think the picnic area is a big deal, I challenge you to spend just a day or two in a wheelchair, and see how you like not being able to sit at a table with the rest of your family for a while.
However, the big necessities are the play area and the bathrooms, so that kids aren't missing out. Portland's website doesn't ever actually explain what constitutes a “disabled access play area,” but the one at Laurelhurst Park gives a good example. There's ramps onto some parts of the equipment, and a deep, high-backed swing with a five-point harness. However, much of the play area is rolling grass and sand (as opposed to wheelchair friendly bark chips) and it isn't like the park is boasting a Liberty Swing or anything so inclusive. Still, one has to admit that some access is better than none at all, even if it does just mean one swing and one ramp.
One of the problems is that many of the city's parks, as well as the recreation buildings, are
older, and weren't designed with wheelchairs in mind. Portland has continued to make its parks more accessible, prodded on by grassroots campaigns like Everybody Swings. If Portlanders want more access, citizens need to make sure their voices are heard as the city continues to build more and more parks, and continues to overhaul and retrofit the existing ones. Shoot an email over to Portland Parks and Rec Commissioner Nick Fish or Director Zari Santner, to let them know you want them to keep accessibility considerations in mind as they continue with the Lents Park Master Plan and other PPR projects. Let's try to make Portland's parks a fun possibility for all families.
Carissa Martos holds an English B.A. from the University of California in Berkeley, and is mother to, and advocate for, two children with special needs. The Associate Director for the Signing Time Academy in the Northwest, selling Signing Time DVDs through PDX Loves Signing, she's also the Signing Time Foundation's Academy Outreach Coordinator, and pursuing her ASL interpreting certificate as well as her Master's in Education.
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