Yorkville’s Sleezer Park reopens with inclusive play areas

Yorkville’s Emily Sleezer Park, located at 837 Homestead Drive, has reopened featuring new children play areas and amenities, including a roller zip line tested by Yorkville Mayor John Purcell.

The 22-year old park began its complete $85,000 reconstruction in April, replacing all equipment, renovating for more inclusive activities and ADA accessibility. Yorkville Superintendent of Parks Scott Sleezer said that many of the new amenities go beyond just requirements.

“We’ve gotten really inventive with more friendly climbing equipment and inclusive ground-level play panels,” Sleezer said. “We don’t just want to meet modern ADA standards, we want to exceed them.”

Sleezer said he’s very excited for the new Quiet Grove, a low-sensory environment with calming fidget components and stained glass radiating different colors. This sanctuary is designed to lower stimulation, letting children and their parents find peace within their presence.

Providing inclusive activities carries extra significance to Sleezer because his daughter, Emily, had special needs and enjoyed playgrounds. The park was named in her honor after she died in 2001 at 3-years-old.

Additionally, Sleezer noted inclusive swings and that the concrete trail is widened for wheelchair access. A transfer platform allows children requiring walking assistance and wheelchairs to seize bars enabling greater mobility. Wheelchair accessibility is a chief priority of the Yorkville Parks & Recreation Department, who completely renovated and enlarged Kiwanis Park in May, allowing wheelchairs to actually rise upon the play equipment.

New park features also include a High Adventure climbing zone, new slides and a merry-go-all. Children also can play basketball, snack at a picnic table and explore nature along the park’s adjourning trail.

Sleezer said for a smaller town, Yorkville’s 28 playgrounds is such a blessing for the community. They can provide entertainment for all-ages, too, as Mayor Purcell found on the new zip line.

“It was pretty fun to watch [Purcell] fly there-and-back on his second try,” Sleezer said. “The challenge is using your momentum, reaching the line’s end and pushing off, coming all the way back to the start.”

The care for providing accessible playgrounds continues even after the old equipment is removed, as Rockford-based Kids Around the World deconstructed Sleezer Park’s older equipment. The nonprofit refurbishes older playground equipment to build new parks in low-income countries around the world.

The park’s old equipment will be used to build a new playground in the Dominican Republic.

Sleezer, who previously helped build a park in Cuba, said getting the chance to help build that new playground will contain special meaning and importance to him.