Southport has big hopes to create a boundless playground space where people of all ages and abilities can play in the county.
Dubbed the “Taylor Field of Dreams,” the playground would be fully inclusive and built in the city’s Taylor Field Park. Renderings for the playground show a maritime-themed space that nods to the city’s waterfront location and history.
The project has been a long time coming for Southport’s Parks and Recreation Director Heather Hemphill, who told the city’s board of aldermen she’s been dreaming about an inclusive playground in the city for six years or so.
“There’s not an inclusive, boundless playground in Brunswick County,” Hemphill said at a December meeting of the board.
While all the playgrounds in the city are ADA-compliant, Hemphill said, they’re not all easily accessible for everyone. Hemphill said there are several families in the area with children and adults to whom typical playground equipment is not accessible.
“A boundless playground removes any type of barrier for anybody based on your abilities,” Hemphill said. “Everybody’s abilities are so different and playgrounds, I mean I hate to say it, but playgrounds have always been built based on what was standardized as you could be able to do. But not everybody can do everything.”