New, all-inclusive Watson Trail Park playground, offers equal fun for all abilities

Editor’s Note: The City of Sunset Hills invited residents to celebrate the dedication of their new all-inclusive Watson Trail Playground on August 15. Sunset Hills Mayor Pat Fribis cut the ribbon.

Rainbows for Kids charity played a big part in this playground. Two years ago they took an idea to the Gerald Brown of the Parks and Recreation Department and he along with so many from Sunset Hills made it happen. Rainbows for Kids is the official charity of STLSportsPage.com as it was started by the Tippett and Rains families and for 21 years we have volunteered running it for all those years. 

The ADA accessible playground offers features for people with disabilities, including wheelchair accessible swings and merry go around. The swing, shown left, allows a person in a wheelchair to ride the chair up a ramp and stay in the chair as they enjoy the swing.

Additional playground modifications include, music equipment, a water mister, accessible surfacing and more. BBQ and refreshments were served following the dedication ceremony. The playground is adjacent to the tennis courts.

Parks Director Gerald Brown, shown right, serving lunch, states, “We care about those who frequent our parks and are ultra-sensitive to their needs, being able to provide an accessible playground for all visitors is just one thing that makes the Sunset Hills community a more comfortable place for residents and visitors to spend their recreational time and we are ready to open the playground, let’s go!”

This project was made possible by the generous support and funding from the Municipal Parks Grant Commission along with:  Rainbow for Kids, Renewal by Andersen, Crestwood/Sunset Hills Rotary Club, Crestwood/Sunset Hills Kiwanis Club, The Whitey Herzog Foundation, and the Foundation for Sunset Hills.

Sunset Mayor Pat Fribis  says “This is an exciting time for us all to gather and celebrate a true accomplishment and step forward for equality in Sunset Hills. We invite everyone out to see this incredible state of the art enhancement to an already loved playground and park, we could not be more excited and prouder”.

Mayor Fribis and Gerald Brown are shown in the photo, left, with Whitey Herzog at the groundbreaking of the playground earlier this year. Herzog and his foundation The Whitey Herzog Youth Foundation helped Sunset Hills accomplish the goal of the playground)

To see the story on FOX2- CLICK HERE

At the ribbon cutting, there were three kids from Rainbows for Kids who got to play. on the new playground equipment and they are shown in the photo at the top of the page. Here is a group photo of volunteers and kids who showed up for the big event.

For more information on Rainbows for Kids CLICK HERE.