January 23, 2025
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Rice Park reopens in Yorkville after $100K complete playground rebuild

Features inclusive playground equipment for children of all abilities

By Joey Weslo
Braving the chilly December temperatures, Yorkville parks department staff and city officials celebrate the re-opening of Rice Park, with all new inclusive playground equipment, on Dec. 3, 2024.

Braving the chilly December temperatures, Yorkville parks department staff and city officials celebrate the re-opening of Rice Park, with all new inclusive playground equipment, on Dec. 3, 2024. (Provided by The City of Yorkville)

After undergoing a more than $100,000 complete rebuild, Rice Park in Yorkville is reopening to the public featuring all new inclusive playground equipment designed to celebrate the diversity and needs of the community

Upgrading the previous 20-year old playground, located in River’s Edge Subdivision, at 545 Poplar Drive, was a priority for the city because the area’s families live further from the town’s other playgrounds.

Scott Sleezer, Yorkville’s Superintendent of Parks, said it has long been the park board’s priority to have a fantastic playground within a half-mile of all families in town.

“There’s a lot of reasons people move to a town, like good schools, but they also come for great recreational opportunities,” Sleezer said. “Having an abundance of parks and playgrounds is a part of the reason why people desire to live in Yorkville. That spirit reflects in our town having 29 current playgrounds, which is a tremendous number of parks per our population.”

Rice Park in Yorkville features all new inclusive playground equipment, including a more horizontal climbing net designed to be fun for both children in wheelchairs and kids of any ability.

Rice Park in Yorkville features all new inclusive playground equipment, including a more horizontal climbing net designed to be fun for both children in wheelchairs and kids of any ability. (Provided by The City of Yorkville)

Sleezer said he is excited to debut the park’s new paved, ground-level play area with sensory panels, the park’s new inclusive, easy-access swing for people of all abilities, and the playground’s inverted net climber.

“The inverted net climber is great, it gives ground-level access to people in a wheelchair, where the net stretches out over you so you can reach up and grab it,” Sleezer said. “It also makes it easier to climb for all kids because it’s not as vertical.”

Sleezer said the playground’s new inclusive features follow the trend of the parks department prioritizing both setting the standard for inclusivity and exceeding the ADA requirements while upgrading all of the city’s parks.

“Our neighbors are all of different abilities and we want to make sure that we’re being inclusive to all of them, whether that is somebody in a wheelchair, or even adults who might require greater accessibility,” Sleezer said. “We want to make sure that we’re providing the best space for allowing kids and parents to play side by side.”

Rice Park in Yorkville has re-opened with all new playground designs, including an all-inclusive, ground-level sensory play area.

Rice Park in Yorkville has re-opened with all new playground designs, including an all-inclusive, ground-level sensory play area. (Provided by The City of Yorkville)

Rice Park’s old playground equipment was dismantled and is in the process of being refurbished by the non-profit Kids Around the World to be installed in an underprivileged area of the Dominican Republic, helping provide their children greater access to safe playground equipment.

Rice Park’s new equipment was ordered by the city in 2023 at a cost of $90,402 with an additional $13,900 price to install.

Following the grand opening of Rice Park, the parks department is switching gears to the rebuild of Rotary Park, a 12-acre site in the Grand Reserve Development, that will become the city’s largest ever inclusive playground. The new playground will include multiple ramping decks so kids in wheelchairs can climb the equipment.

Kids Around the World will help dismantle the equipment at Rotary Park this winter, with the new equipment currently planned to be installed in late spring, 2025.