(Navarre, Ohio) – The Navarre Bethlehem Community Park has officially opened a new handicap-accessible playground.
The new playground at 8201 Hudson St. SW in Navarre opened late last month and includes new playground equipment as well as cement and blacktop to allow accessibility for wheelchairs.
The former playground had needed improvements for quite a while, according to officials, with some features likely around 50 years old. Additionally, children with disabilities were unable to enjoy the old playground.
Planning for the new playground began around 7 years ago when the idea was proposed by Bethlehem Township Trustee Jim Urbach. It was finally kickstarted when the selective timber cut yielded $20,000. Then, Debbie Lehman, co-owner of Ernie’s Bike Shop offered to help write a grant at no cost leading to an award of more than $86,000 at the end of 2019. The total project cost came in at around $115,000 with added dollars coming from in-kind work and services.
