NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — It was still a little chilly before 10 a.m. on Thursday, yet the playground at the City/County Park in Nicholasville was already teeming with kids.
“It is getting a lot of use. All day long you'll see kids. I was here at around 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon and there were about 50 kids playing,” said Anessa Snowden, the Jessamine County Director of Parks and Recreation.
The new playground at the City/County Park opened two weeks ago and already has a fully inclusive playground nearby. According to Snowden, the goal was to marry the concept of an inclusive playground with the more traditional elements of a playground in the same space.
“We wanted to add the accessibility aspects right in the middle of everything else,” said Jessamine County Judge Executive David K. West. “We're one community. We're one people and we can all enjoy this together."
Snowden explained how Jessamine County accomplished this goal with a $450,000 investment.
To fit the all-inclusive playground into a traditional playground model, an inclusive swing was placed in the center of traditional swings. A rope climbing structure that spins has an opening for children to sit. Two ziplines are side-by-side, and one of them allows a child to sit safely with a hardness over their shoulders.
“We wanted to add components here, so they could be together and play together,” Snowden stated of the intended goal for this facility.
The park itself is a gem featuring pickleball courts, basketball courts, baseball fields and more. It hosted last Sunday’s Easter egg hunt for families, and all types of other events during the warm weather months will be held here.
The revamped playground is now at the center of it all, and it was already busy by 9:30 a.m. on a Thursday.
“I'm actually a physical therapist, so I’ve already met a couple of kids here for therapy and we've been able to utilize all of the structures,” said Alexis Smith as she watched her two small children play on the equipment.
Snowden and West have been hearing great things about the result, and West, very recently, could see it with his own eyes.
“I had my grandchildren out here playing and there were about 100 kids here playing. I think everyone likes a refresh. We had an old playground, and we made a decision to invest and make a new beginning here at City/County Park,” West said.
