New inclusive park is part of a growing effort to improve accessibility on Oregon coast

Lincoln City’s first new park in 20 years isn’t set to open until late fall, but Amy Farhat is already planning lunch dates for “Beach Buddies” eager for a taste of the outdoors too often out of reach to them. Even on the vast Oregon coast, access to the great outdoors can be difficult when you don’t easily get around.

“We have one member whose mobility is getting more and more challenging,” said Farhat, founder of Beach Buddies, a nonprofit support group for adults with intellectual or development disabilities. “She loves nature; she loves the birds and trees and it’s hard to find a space to go enjoy those things here in Lincoln City.”

Now Lincoln City is looking to change that with the Schooner Creek Discovery Park, nearly 7 acres in the heart of town designed to be accessible and inclusive while offering an experience as fun and challenging as visitors want to make it.

“This is a community driven and community-built park, and the community told us they want this park to be welcoming to all,” said Jeanne Sprague, Lincoln City Parks and Recreation director. “Parks and recreation are vital to community health and wellness. They are gathering places for socialization, areas where people can be outdoors, get exercise, commune with nature and each other. It is important to have the opportunity to play no matter your age or ability.”

The city has been talking about a new park for at least 15 years, Sprague said. It became a reality about three years ago when Lincoln City bought the former Taft Elementary School property for $500,000. Then, the city turned to the community for more input on what the priorities should be. Beach Buddies members contributed their wishes.

“The biggest thing from Beach Buddies was flat forgiving surfaces; not too tall and not too short tables,” Farhat said. “They want a different variety of heights of tables and benches, open-ended picnic tables so there is a space for someone in a wheelchair or walker. They also asked for fenced areas for individuals who tend to wander, restrooms that are completely accessible and pet friendly spaces. Those were the biggest requests.”

The phase one, $3 million playground is set to open in late fall with “the first inclusive and accessible playground on the Oregon coast,” Sprague said.

“Inclusive is being accessible to any ability or disability or any age,” Sprague said. “This means it’s inclusive of hearing loss, autism, ADHD. It’s not just mobility focused. It will address the needs of all people to offer remarkable experiences, challenging them at their own level. There will be space for safe, independent play, quiet zones where kids can go take a break, a sliding area, swinging area and climbing area. We have five different zones, and each has different development levels of play so people can be independent on them.”

Schooner Creek Discovery Park is part of a growing effort on the Oregon coast to ensure that everyone, regardless of their ability, gets to enjoy the beach and the outdoors around it. In recent years, that’s meant the installation of wheelchair-friendly Mobi-Mats and the availability of beach-friendly wheelchairs, like those offered by the David’s Chair Program, along with more thoughtful design of facilities.

Rockaway Beach recently opened the $1.48 million Anchor Street Park and Playground, one block off U.S. 101. “It’s state of the art ADA design,” said Bill Hassell, president of the Rockaway Beach Planning Commission. “It’s very colorful with unusual design schemes. Instead of bark or sand, there are 16 pads recessed into the ground. There’s no step up or step down. You put your foot on the top and they are very soft and squish down. It allows for a soft landing for the little ones. There’s also a big orange tent covering a portion, which allows them to play out of the rain or in the shade.”

The new playground comes only a few years after the city completed a wheelchair accessible boardwalk leading to what is known locally as “the big cedar.” The boardwalk extends from U.S. 101 through an old growth forest to a western red cedar tree believed to be about 900 years old, standing 150 feet tall and 50 feet around.

“The entire boardwalk, about 3,000 feet, was completed with Alaska yellow cedar so it will need no special treatment for the next 100 years,” Hassell said. “It was completed in 2021 and has been one of the biggest attractions here in Rockaway.”

Next, Rockaway is planning upgrades to make Lake Lytle more accessible, including wheelchair access, protected playground and wading areas, restrooms with water, lights and sewer, a new parking area, wheelchair access for new boat docks and a kayak launcher accessible to people with disabilities. There will also be a picnic and swimming area and an inclusive children’s playground. In addition, the city is planning a new ramp from the Rockaway Beach Wayside to the beach.

“Currently, access is 10 to 15 feet off the sand,” Hassell said. “You have to slide down the sand to get to it. It’s not ADA compliant in any way. The plans are to create a modern and updated ramp that will allow wheelchairs to get down to the sand. We’re also looking at a David’s Chair and Mobi-Mats so they can go out past the soft sand to the hard sand, park there and see the ocean.”

Also in Tillamook County, the Tillamook Coast Visitors Association recently installed “hearing loops” at the Air Museum and at the Tillamook Creamery. “It’s the size of black box from an airplane,” said Dan Haag, Director, Trails, Outdoor Recreation, and Accessibility. “It creates a cone of silence around people who have hearing aids and cochlear implants so when they are talking in loud spaces it helps them communicate instead of being bombarded with sound.”

The visitors’ association also brought in an outdoor accessibility consultant to assess three county parks, and hosted “Wheel the World,” an online travel marketplace focused on the accessibility of travel destinations, to take a look at what the county has to offer.

Wheel of the World “did about 30 site surveys in Tillamook County, and went through to inventory of what is here,” Haag said. “They provide information so people can make plans before they go. The most important thing we’ve been tackling is just information. We want people to know before they travel.”

In Lincoln City, construction of the new Schooner Creek playground will be followed by two additional phases that will see the construction of a covered picnic and outdoor stage area, restrooms, a promenade and flexible lawn area, sports courts and fields for games including soccer, pickleball, softball and baseball, as well as space for unstructured plays, and a nature trail. Accessibility will be a priority throughout the park’s design, Sprague said.

“I love the concept,” said Farhat. “We don’t have an area like this that people can go to and easily navigate it. On a beautiful day when we are looking for a place to go, we will have a space where there will be a covered area with tables, and we’ll be able to sit and have lunch and just enjoy being outside and that is something on a regular basis we are always looking for. We are very excited.”

— Lori Tobias, for The Oregonian/OregonLive