Asheville playground upgrades address accessibility, inclusivity

Asheville’s been getting serious about its playgrounds in recent years. Fueled by funding from a 2016 general obligation bond, the City of Asheville has completed major overhauls on nine of its public playgrounds since 2019, and two more are scheduled for upgrades in 2025.

One of two projects completed this summer, Murphy-Oakley Park’s play area relaunched in late June with an adaptive design and all-new equipment, making it the city’s first all-abilities playground.

All of the city’s playground projects have focused on overall improvement of access. The Murphy-Oakley site’s redesign is unique in that it was specifically tailored to meet the needs of Asheville’s disabled residents.

Inclusive by design

“The trend in parks and rec now is to make sure playground structures are built so that, regardless of what your skill set or ability is, any young person that’s utilizing the facility has free roam of it with no boundaries, no hindrance,” says D. Tyrell McGirt, Asheville’s parks and recreation director.

On a warm, sunny day just before the start of the school year, McGirt strolls on the rubberized green deck inside the new fence of the freshly renovated Murphy-Oakley playground area, pointing out design aspects that make the playground inclusive. Packs of young children careen and climb about on the brightly colored structures under blue shade umbrellas, while parents and caregivers hover nearby.

“[All-abilities] playgrounds have to have some type of rubbery surface, so if you fall on it, there’s low impact, but you can also roll over it and navigate it pretty easily with a wheelchair,” he says. “And there’s a gradual incline, so regardless of your ability, you can easily get up on the platformed area of the play structure and climbing features.”

Designed by Rebecca Cipriano, construction division project manager for the City of Asheville’s Capital Management Department, the playground includes multiple slides, monkey bars, bridges and climbing structures integrated into the primary play unit. Nearby is a spherical, spinning contraption — currently filled with children — that McGirt explains is a hybrid merry-go-round/climbing apparatus called Global Motion.

“It is safe because it’s enclosed and people can’t get caught up under it,” he says. “But it also has some adventure features where you can climb on it and a platform area inside. Part of a playground experience for young people is being able to experiment and test their skills.”

Not far from the Global Motion, a couple of tall, metallic flowers with attached drumsticks serve as percussion instruments; next to them is a rainbow-colored xylophone. Just past an all-abilities double swing, large signs show graphics depicting emotions and anti-anxiety techniques that can be used for nonverbal communication and emotional support.

A “serenity spot” at the back of the playground provides a bench behind a perforated wall — still connected to the fun but separated enough to give respite to weary caregivers or neurodivergent visitors needing a breather.

“It’s a space where they can just kind of block out all the noise, all the sensory overload,” says McGirt. “You can sit there and peek through those holes and see what everybody’s doing but not have to be in the middle of it exactly.”

Fun for all

Installed in the 1970s and renovated in 1996, the Murphy-Oakley playground was due for another refurbishment, says McGirt. But the location was chosen for the all-abilities makeover because of its role as the central host site for the City of Asheville’s Therapeutic Recreation (TR) program, through the Murphy-Oakley Community Center. Asheville’s TR initiative offers a range of adaptive sports and other recreational activities to residents with developmental or physical disabilities.

Though the city’s asset management crew did its best to keep the old Murphy-Oakley playground functional and in good repair, its design presented TR-specific challenges, says City of Asheville TR manager Lori Long. The previous mulch surface, for instance, made it inaccessible to visitors using wheelchairs or walkers, or those with an unsteady gait. A lack of fencing made it difficult to set boundaries for program participants.

Additionally, the previous activity structure had only one ramp access and no play options for visitors using wheelchairs. “Someone in a seated position could only roll up the ramp and back down, with no other points of play,” Long explains.

By comparison, she continues, the new playground offers an abundance of options for TR program participants. The Global Motion apparatus is Long’s favorite. “[It] can accommodate many friends at once and makes an excellent place to nest,” she says.

But she also notes safety upgrades, including new fencing and an accessible cement pathway connecting the recreation center to the playground. “We used to have to walk through the active parking lot,” she says.

Feedback from TR participants and other community members has been overwhelmingly positive, Long adds. “It was important to me for us to have a secure, safe place to play and to have different structures and components — a place where someone could come every day and play with something different,” she says. “I truly feel that was accomplished with the design of this space.”

Collaborative effort

The other city playgrounds renovated with funds from the 2016 bond — Tempie Avery Montford Community Center, Herb Watts Park, Leah Chiles Park, Augusta Barnett Park, Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center, Magnolia Park, Walton Street Park and Carrier Park — have received a range of enhancements, including new equipment, fencing, play surfaces, sidewalks, tables, grills and historical markers. Upgrades to the Weaver Park and Burton Street Community Center playgrounds are projected to finish in 2025.

Out of 19 city playgrounds, these sites were chosen for updates through a collaboration between Asheville’s Parks and Recreation Department and its Capital Management staff, says Jade Dundas, the city’s capital projects director. The selection process took multiple factors into consideration, including equity, safety, the age and condition of equipment and infrastructure, and input from local decision-makers and the community as a whole.

Community input received through city public engagement efforts helps with prioritizing playground projects, Dundas says, and aids staff in deciding on equipment and design features. He points to a recent survey of more than 100 Weaver Park users related to the upcoming refresh of the North Asheville park’s playground.

“Parks and Capital Management staff worked together to set up a tabling display in Weaver Park, a chance to talk with families using the space in real time,” he explains. “Now our project manager is using that input to directly inform the project design.”

Both Dundas and McGirt note that Asheville City Council’s Aug. 27 approval of the Recreate Asheville: Shaping Our City’s Parks 10-year vision plan opens the door to continued improvements on the city’s parks in the coming years. The plan identifies the recreational sites that need the most work, which projects would be most beneficial for the community and strategies for implementing projects in the coming years.

In the upcoming election, Asheville residents will be able to vote on a $20 million general obligation bond referendum, similar to the 2016 bond that funded the most recent playground updates. Approval of the bond would secure funding for a number of short-term projects prioritized in the Recreate Asheville plan, including upgrades or redevelopment at Burton Street, Malvern Hills, Murray Hill, Recreation, Roger Farmer and Walton Street parks, plus a new park on Sweeten Creek Road, among others.

As part of a continuing effort to gather input from residents on planned park upgrades, McGirt will host a series of three Park Bench Chats in the coming months, starting with an 8-11 a.m. session Friday, Oct. 4, at Burton Street Community Center, 134 Burton St. Additional opportunities will be Monday, Jan. 13, 3-6 p.m., at Tempie Avery Montford Community Center and Wednesday, April 9, 5-8 p.m., at Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center. Registration is currently only available for the Oct. 4 event.

To view the Recreate Asheville plan, visit avl.mx/e4e. Visit avl.mx/e4f to reserve a 20-minute slot at the Park Bench Chat on Friday, Oct. 4, with D. Tyrell McGirt.

Note: This story was updated on Sept. 23 to include the correct pronoun for Jade Dundas.