Wrightsville Beach’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee reviewed designs for the town’s new handicap-accessible playground Dec. 7, which will likely include four types of swings and a side-by-side slide.
Wrightsville Beach Park’s current playground will be replaced next year using a $300,000 Play Together Construction Grant the town received from regional healthcare organization Trillium Health Resources.
Parks and Recreation program supervisor Katie Ryan said she is working with different equipment vendors to design the playground, which will include both inclusive and non-inclusive equipment.
“The last we heard,” Ryan said, “the design had to be in by the end of January and then everything is installed by the end of July.”
The playground could have as many as four types of swings: regular swings, infant swings, a swing with a strap for extra support and an expression swing, which seats two people, like a parent and young child, Ryan said.
Another likely piece of inclusive equipment is a slide with two ramps.
“That’s not for a wheelchair, but someone else could get in and slide down next to you,” Ryan explained.
While all the park’s current playground equipment will be replaced, some of the newer pieces, like the play set for children ages 2 to 5, might be relocated to a different part of the park. Ryan said the equipment could go near the farmers’ market site.
The committee also narrowed down a list of recreational projects it would like the Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen to discuss during its annual retreat in January.
Projects at the top of the committee’s list are a multi-use path near the park for walkers and cyclists and lights for the tennis courts or the path that winds behind the tennis courts. They also liked the idea of putting more exercise equipment in the park. Ryan said she gets requests to put equipment around the John Nesbitt Loop but it’s hard to find enough space that isn’t private property.
The town can apply for a North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Grant for up to $500,000 but the grant requires a match from the town.
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