After the Green Girl's
trail run yesterday, she headed up to Griffith Park to visit Shane's Inspiration Universally Accessible Playground.
I'm on the committee to organize the first Angelman Syndrome Foundation National Walk here in the Los Angeles area.
The Walk always takes place the third Saturday in May. This year, it will take place on May 21, 2011 in various locations across the nation.
The Los Angeles walk will take place at Shane's Inspiration at Griffith Park near the Merry-Go-Round between the Los Angeles Zoo and the Griffith Park Los Feliz park entrance.
This is my first experience with event coordination. Unlike the majority of races attend, the walk is not the focus.
I started off by jogging around the perimeter of the park to get an idea of the surrounding area. I liked how our section will be away from the main thoroughfare.
We had to take into consideration the characteristics of individuals diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome when choosing a location:
- Nearby parking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Convenient restroom facilities
- Shade because overheating often causes seizures
- Safe location (away from traffic, bicyclists)
Once I made my way around, I traced the path of the two mile walk.
The path was a lot hillier than I would have liked but the entire route was paved and there were lots of trees protecting me from the sun around the Merry-Go-Round. The section between the Starting/Finish Line and the Merry-Go-Round was along the parking lot and offered little to no shade.
The bathroom facilities were respectable for a public park. The stalls were well stocked with toilet paper and even had toilet seat covers.
Shane's Inspiration was a beautiful playground consisting of what appeared to be four separate play areas combined into one. As a universally accessible playground, all the segments featured wheelchair ramps and ample railings.
I snapped endless pictures of the park to help me paint a picture in my mind as I start putting together the plan before I headed back home.
