City of Talladega Blog

(Talladega, AL) TOP Trails OHV Park and other local organizations are helping to build Talladega’s first inclusive, fully-accessible ADA public playground.

The Unity Playground project began in December 2023, when a team from T-Mobile came to Talladega to present the City of Talladega with a prestigious $50,000 T-Mobile Hometown Grant to help establish the playground in Veterans Park. Talladega Clay Randolph Childcare Corporation (TCR) contributed $75,000 to help purchase park equipment. These major contributions, along with a $50,000 commitment from the city and additional support from the ARC of North Talladega County, TOP Trails OHV Park, and Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, have enabled the city to design the park and order all of the equipment. While this invaluable support has brought Talladega much closer to establishing its first inclusive, fully-accessible ADA playground, $20,000 is needed for installation and completion of the project. If you would like to make a donation, please contact Mary Sood at msood@talladega.com. The names of all individuals, businesses and organizations who donate $500 or more will be listed on a permanent plaque in the park.

Talladega resident Edna Richardson is excited about having a playground that her daughter can enjoy.

“Stacie is a long term cancer survivor. She had leukemia at two, and she also had colon and kidney cancer. Regardless of that, she loves to play, and play is crucial to her development socially and emotionally,” said Richardson. “Unfortunately, at most parks, the equipment is not developed for children with special needs. Most parks are not geared for Stacie. The equipment is too high or simply unsafe for her. To have a playground in our community that she can actually use will be wonderful.”

Margaret Chandler agrees. “My daughter was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair for mobility. She would absolutely love an accessible park. Any parks that we have been to have been so limited in accessibility that it was a trip wasted,” Chandler said.

Unity Playground will also benefit children who do not require an ADA compliant environment as they may have parents, guardians, siblings or friends who are blind, deaf or deaf/blind; have diverse health conditions; and/or use wheelchairs. The playground equipment is specially designed for inclusivity as well as accessibility, which will allow children of all abilities to play together.

PHOTO: Councilman Steve Dickerson, TOP Trails OHV Park Director Scooter Watts, City Manager Derrick Swanson, Councilwoman Vickey Hall, Mayor Ashton Hall, Council President Betty Spratlin, Councilman James Braswell, and Councilman Hugh Sims.