When Marcella Twamley moved to Chapel Hill a few years ago, it did not take long to realize there was not an ideal playground space for her family.
Twamley’s daughter, Lydia, has mobility challenges because of her disabilities and none of the town’s offerings featured accessible spots for children like Lydia to play.
“Eventually, I asked one of my neighbors who happened to be on [the] parks and rec commission,” she told Chapelboro. “And he said, ‘This is what you need to do: you need to go be on [the] commission and then you need to advocate for this. Because this is something we need.'”
On Wednesday, the result of that advocacy was on display at Chapel Hill’s Community Center Park. After years of her own service on the town’s Parks and Recreation commission, the local government using federal funds, and months of construction, a fully inclusive playground now is available for community members like Lydia. Chapel Hill leaders held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the amenity, with children in the adapted curriculum at Rashkis Elementary School arriving on a field trip to try out the playground.
Town Manager Mary Jane Nirdlinger and Mayor Jess Anderson each shared comments ahead of the ribbon cutting, thanking both the families of the disabled community for their perspectives on accessible recreation, and the parks and recreation staff who worked to make the project possible.
“Today it’s not just a new playground that we’re celebrating,” said Nirdlinger, “it’s the many ways that this space demonstrates our town mission of learning, serving and working together to build a community where everyone can thrive.”
“We are so thrilled to have this place where everyone can get in on the action and play together,” added Anderson. “I [have] spent many, many hours at this park and this is going to be an amazing, different experience for all of our kiddos of all different abilities to be together.”
Children and families help break in the new Community Center Park playground on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Photo by Brighton McConnell/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
That sentiment is separates a playground design from being exclusive and inclusive. The new setup, designed by Barrs Recreation, accounts for wheelchair users by having smooth surfaces under all the equipment and ramps to access each part of the playground. There are slides, spinners and a swaying “rocker” that able-bodied children and those with mobility limitations can equally operate and participate. The Community Center Park playground also has amenities for those of different learning abilities and stimulation limits — like a music zone with permanent noisemakers and a serenity spot within the equipment to offer a place with some separation while still being part of the play space.
Twamley pointed out the playground is inclusive for all ages as well, with many of the features and softer playing surface being friendly for toddlers in addition to older children.
While the Community Center Park playground is fully inclusive, it is not the only spot to receive upgrades to encourage inclusivity. The Town of Chapel Hill added inclusive amenities at Hargraves Park, Southern Community Park, Umstead Park & Homestead Park, Oakwood Park, Cedar Falls Park, Westwood Park, North Forest Park and Burlington Park in recent months with the same American Rescue Plan Act funding as the new playground.
As children began excitedly checking out all of the features of the updated Community Center Park playground on Wednesday, Twamley reflected how the finished product reflects how a community’s interests can be met when all parties work toward a common goal.
“It’s really great when you have people coming together and everyone’s willing to listen,” she said. “I think this project was that: our council saw this need, Parks and Rec is always great at responding to community feedback. We went through several renderings and drawings on this, doing the feasibility studies and talking about what people would like to see here, and they were willing to listen to all that feedback and come up with something that was in our budget. So, [today] is really cool.”
The Chapel Hill Community Center Park’s hours are dawn until 10 p.m. Additional details about the new inclusive playground and updated features at other town parks can be found on the local government’s website.
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Chapel Hill Cuts Ribbon, Opens Fully Inclusive Playground at Community Center Park Chapelboro.com.
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