{"id":65146,"date":"2026-04-23T19:25:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T23:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=65146"},"modified":"2026-04-23T19:25:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T23:25:21","slug":"this-lakeland-playground-is-a-colorful-all-abilities-space-where-every-kid-can-play-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2026\/04\/23\/this-lakeland-playground-is-a-colorful-all-abilities-space-where-every-kid-can-play-together\/","title":{"rendered":"This Lakeland Playground Is a Colorful, All-Abilities Space Where Every Kid Can Play Together\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Joe L. and Karen L. Ruthven Playground<\/strong> at Veterans Park. It really is a standout spot in Lakeland, especially since its redesign transformed it into a space specifically engineered for inclusive play<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Here is what makes that specific park a great community asset:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Features for Accessibility<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • Poured-in-Place Rubber Flooring:<\/strong> Unlike mulch or sand, this smooth surface is designed for easy navigation with wheelchairs, walkers, and strollers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The We-Go-Swing:<\/strong> One of the most popular features, it allows kids (and adults) in wheelchairs to swing without having to transfer out of their seats.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Sensory Play:<\/strong> The park includes musical instruments and tactile panels that provide a different kind of engagement for children who might find standard equipment overwhelming.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • ZipKrooz:<\/strong> They have specialized seats on the zip line that offer extra back support, ensuring kids with limited core strength can still enjoy the ride.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
    \n
    \"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Location & Logistics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • Address:<\/strong> 1000 E Edgewood Dr, Lakeland, FL.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Parking:<\/strong> There is dedicated accessible parking close to the entrance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Perimeter:<\/strong> The playground is fenced, which provides peace of mind for parents of “runners” or children who tend to wander.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      It\u2019s a great example of “universal design,” where the equipment isn’t just “special” for some kids\u2014it’s fun for everyone. Whether a child is using a mobility device or just looking for a colorful place to climb, the layout encourages them to play side-by-side.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      The Joe L. and Karen L. Ruthven Playground at Veterans Park. It really is a standout spot in Lakeland, especially since its redesign transformed it into a space specifically engineered… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"6","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9sYWtlbGFuZGdhemV0dGUuaW5mb1wvbmV3c1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDRcL1RoaXMtTGFrZWxhbmQtUGxheWdyb3VuZC53ZWJwP2ZpdD04MDAlMkM0NTAmc3NsPTEiLCJ0eHQiOiJUaGlzIExha2VsYW5kIFBsYXlncm91bmQgSXMgYSBDb2xvcmZ1bCwgQWxsLUFiaWxpdGllcyBTcGFjZSBXaGVyZSBFdmVyeSBLaWQgQ2FuIFBsYXkgVG9nZXRoZXJcdTAwYTAiLCJ0ZW1wbGF0ZSI6ImRvaXMiLCJmb250IjoiIiwiYmxvZ19pZCI6MTYzMDQwNjYxfQ.my-GHkKF3thIAM0bpPiXjqnkkskTIExIoq3IuwSSoVkMQ"},"version":2,"media_source":"sig","attached_media":[{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/jetpack.com\/redirect\/?source=sigenerate&query=t%3DeyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvbGFrZWxhbmRnYXpldHRlLmluZm9cL25ld3NcL3dwLWNvbnRlbnRcL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMjZcLzA0XC9UaGlzLUxha2VsYW5kLVBsYXlncm91bmQud2VicCIsInR4dCI6IlRoaXMgTGFrZWxhbmQgUGxheWdyb3VuZCBJcyBhIENvbG9yZnVsLCBBbGwtQWJpbGl0aWVzIFNwYWNlIFdoZXJlIEV2ZXJ5IEtpZCBDYW4gUGxheSBUb2dldGhlclx1MDBhMCIsInRlbXBsYXRlIjoiZG9pcyIsImZvbnQiOiIiLCJibG9nX2lkIjoxNjMwNDA2NjF9.AZtxIAgUAo4Vfw2GdkiqDdj7gOrfKHQoRRgLY2rbfE0MQ","type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[14455,14454],"class_list":["post-65146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-all-abilities-space-where-every-kid-can-play-together","tag-this-lakeland-playground-is-a-colorful"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65146"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65149,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65146\/revisions\/65149"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}