The City of Deltona’s newest playground at the Dewey O. Boster Sports Complex, 1200 Saxon Blvd., is fully accessible by Americans With Disabilities Act standards.
Deltona resident Angela Macaluso took her grandson to the playground soon after it opened. Her grandson is paralyzed, she said, and he loved the playground. Her only complaint was with a heavy harness on the swings that didn’t stay up well while she was lifting her grandson in.
“I hope everyone makes good use of it,” Macaluso wrote in a Facebook post.
The main factor in ADA-accessibility is ground access. To be ADA-accessible, all play equipment must have “accessible routes,” with paths that are at least 60 inches wide, utilizing ramps and handrails if necessary.
Those paths, specifically, should be made with materials that wheelchair users can easily navigate. Many playgrounds in the area, Constance Jones said, are still using mulch, which wheelchair users or children with prosthetic limbs, for example, can’t navigate.
Jones, who lives in Ormond Beach, runs Children R Our Future, a nonprofit organization focusing on helping families with medical conditions like leukemia and cerebral palsy.
She’s advocated for ADA-accessible playgrounds all over Volusia County, and has contributed accessible playground equipment to various playgrounds. She said she’s happy to see cities stepping up to make a difference for kids.
There are ADA-accessible playgrounds all around West Volusia. See below for a list of city-operated playgrounds that are ADA-friendly:
Orange City
Veterans Memorial Park
Valentine Park
Coleman Park
DeBary
Bill Keller Park — The playground and splash pad are ADA-accessible.
Deltona
Wes Crile
Thornby Park
Festival Park
Harris M. Saxon Community Center and Park
Keysville Dog Park
Dewey Boster — There are two ADA-accessible playgrounds within the sports complex, including the newest one.
Firefighters Park
Campbell Park
DeLand
Freedom Playground
Candlelight Oaks Park and Playground
Highland Park
Earl Brown Park
Eastside Park (Tra Thomas Park)
Jackson Lake Park
Pierson
None of the town’s playgrounds are ADA-compliant at the moment, but the town has grant money and intends to fix up Washington and Palmetto parks to be ADA-accessible.
Lake Helen
Blake Park
Work is underway to make Melissa Park ADA-compliant.
