Photo Credit: © Can Stock Photo / halfpoint
It goes without saying that professionals involved with parks and recreation—perhaps with the exception of Parks and Recreation’s Ron Swanson—want everyone to enjoy the activities and experiences offered in public parks. Aside from the obvious reason that high public utilization of parks can ensure continued increases in a department’s budget, most professionals just love to see people at parks. It’s fun and fulfilling to know parks are valued spaces in the community.
Who Can Enjoy Recreation Programs? Recreation opportunities and activities make a significant contribution to quality of life. Time spent outdoors connecting with nature is valuable time that helps us to refresh and recharge. This seems to be true for all people regardless of age, gender, socio-economic class, disability, or other demographic distinctions. The range of possible recreational activities from picnicking to fishing, swimming to mountain biking, or just sitting on a park bench watching a beautiful sunset, is as diverse as the people who can enjoy them.
To make recreation accessible to people with disabilities, minimum accessibility standards exist for a wide variety of recreational elements, ranging from golf courses and swimming pools to fishing piers and shooting facilities with firing positions. But what about other recreational features, amenities, and programs found in local, regional, and state parks? For example, there are no Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards that specifically address picnic tablesi, community gardens, or horseshoe pits. Each of these features, found in many parks, represents a program or activity available to the public. Yet when there are no accessible design standards, what can be done to ensure that such programs and activities include people of all abilities? Can a wheelchair user enjoy a picnic or toss some horseshoes in your park? Can a blind individual learn about the plants in your arboretum? Are the shared-use paths accessible to people of all abilities?