Norwalk park promises play for all

NORWALK — Driven by a community effort, and after a few unexpected setbacks, an all-abilities playground is finally set to bring fun for all. The opening celebration of the new McGuan Park will be Sunday on North Hester Street near Miller's Grocery Store. The festivities will begin at noon and include flag-raising and ribbon-cutting ceremonies. Park superintendent Joe Lindenberger hoped for the playground equipment to be installed before the end of summer. But when a fire broke out at the supplier's plant, that hope quickly became more difficult. Fundraising for the McGuan Park revitalization project began last year, and construction started in the spring. "It's a pretty awesome park. We're really proud of it. It's come a long way," he said. "It's for inclusive play, for all abilities. It's not just for those in wheelchairs and not just for people without disabilities. Everybody can play together." Lindenberger said a combination of grants and donations from the public and local businesses made the project possible. "This was done with the entire community. It means everything, and there were people from outside of our community who made donations," he said. "People see the value in this. It's not just kids playing, it means so much more than that." The project includes the creation of an all-abilities playground, a new full-sized outdoor basketball facility, a pump track for the general population, a smaller pump track for toddlers and wheelchairs and restroom renovations. "It's not done yet. There are some additional things we'd like to add, like parking and painting the pump track," Lindenberger said. Other amenities include new sidewalks, fencing, landscaping, benches, lighting and a flag pole. Mayor Dave Light said this is the biggest park development the city's ever had. "It started many, many years ago when Andy McGuan donated this property to the city. Had it not been for his generosity, you wouldn't see any of this," Light said. "I brought some people together and asked what they would like to see at this park. I was just blown away." Light said the lack of accessible playground equipment in the area surprised him and he felt it was "unacceptable." Light said the playground equipment is bigger than he expected it to be. "It's all fenced in, with magnetic locks on the gate and benches inside," he said. "There's the world-class pump track, it's incredible." Light said this project has made Norwalk a destination. He said last week he met a man using the pump track who came from Michigan. "This is an example of how Norwalkians are. Big businesses in town showed their generosity, even right down to the smallest donations," he said. "People came out of the woodwork to make this a reality."