Port Huron to celebrate new Gratiot Park play equipment that's 'accessible for all'

The city of Port Huron is slated to celebrate the latest completion of new equipment and redesign of play features at a neighborhood park — this time, at Gratiot Park — later this week.

And according to officials, those features are among the first in the city to be fully inclusive.

“It’s a wholly ADA park. So, folks with different abilities will be able to enjoy the park. It’ll be a regional draw for that reason,” City Manager James Freed said on Monday ahead of a formal ceremony set for 11 a.m. on Friday at the park, 2538 Gratiot Ave.

 “We always factor this in at all of our parks, but this is a park that’s really dedicated to it.”

The park was set to entail a variety of colorful and climbable features. Those inclusive playground amenities include a universally accessible playscape, swings, and a splash pad, as well as an interactive dance and play arch and a new pavilion.

Parks and Recreation Director Nancy Winzer said they worked with Michigan Rehabilitation Services and other agencies on what kind of features would work best to reach as many families as possible despite traditional barriers at community parks.

“Some parks are accessible, and that’s great, but this one is accessible for all,” she said. “There’s ramps to everything. We tried to hit as many disability groups as we could. RESA was also really helpful. We visited some of their parent groups to see what they liked.”

City Council originally signed off on two additional play equipment structures in early 2022 with a bid of $89,977. Members also signed off on recoating the park’s busy basketball court that May.

Larger improvements later closed off part of Gratiot Park to residents that summer during construction.

A popular spot and draw for neighborhood July 4 fireworks, it’s also just the latest site prioritized by the city’s parks and recreation department as it’s updated amenities at neighborhood parks around town over the last several years.

“We’re being very intentional about revamping and rehabilitating neighborhood parks, and in every park, whether it’s Mansfield or Haynes or even Renaissance or Lincoln Park, their usage goes extremely high,” Freed said. “So, we’re seeing a lot of return on our investments. People are really using these parks."

Winzer added they aimed to continue to look at different ways to reach all kinds of access in future park projects, reiterating, “It’s important to have play opportunities for all abilities.”

The play features were paid for with the city’s American Rescue Plan funds, as well as support from several nonprofit agencies, including Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, Community Foundation of St. Clair County Community and the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. The new pavilion and interactive dance feature, according to a news release, came from the Hannah R. Winkler Memorial Fund.

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.