MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR

For those of us with young children or grandchildren, the quality of life offerings in our community make a difference. One of Fort Wayne’s greatest quality of life offerings is our park system. We have more than 2,400 acres of public parks and I’m happy to report that we had record use of our park system last year. This month, our award-winning Parks and Recreation Department received yet another honor. For the second year in a row, Fort Wayne was named a “Playful City USA community” by KaBOOM!, the national non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting playtime.

Fort Wayne is one of 151 cities nationwide to receive the honor this year. Our city earned this distinction for the second time because of our outstanding dedication to increasing play opportunities for children. We’ve been committed to making sure that these place spaces exist in all of our neighborhoods.

According to the folks at KaBOOM!, the communities selected have demonstrated creative commitments to providing play spaces – in the areas of quantity, quality and accessibility. Quantity assesses the number of play areas; quality evaluates how engaging the play areas are; accessibility looks at how open the spaces are, are they unlocked and easy to get to.

Topping the list of Fort Wayne’s accomplishments was the completion of Indiana’s first fully-accessible playground in Kreager Park. Taylor’s Dream Boundless Playground, which we opened in June, is a place for children of all abilities to play together. Children were trained to be experts on the play equipment in order to instruct others during the grand opening. A subcommittee of physical therapists, occupational therapists and recreational therapist reviewed the Boundless Playground equipment and are creating a therapeutic tool for therapists and organizations that serve children with disabilities.

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All of the City’s park playgrounds – including those in Waynedale — have been entered into KaBOOM’s Playspace finder, at www.kaboom.org. It’s a site where everyone can participate by adding comments and pictures about their favorite playgrounds. Area schools and neighborhood groups are also encouraged to upload information.

I can not stress enough the importance of play. We, at the City, go to great lengths to ensure that our young people and families have access to parks, playgrounds and other recreation areas. Play activities lead to children who are more fit, healthy and ready to perform in school.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, play is important to healthy brain development and allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength.
KaBOOM! created Playful City USA in 2007 to help local governments ensure their children have the time and space they need to play.

Oh, by the way, speaking of recreational areas, some of you have likely noticed the installation of pickleball court markings at one of the Waynedale tennis courts.

Pickleball is a combination of tennis, badminton and table tennis. It is played on a court about the size of a badminton court and uses a hard paddle and a perforated plastic ball.

The sport has become so popular that besides outdoor courts the Parks & Recreation Department has created indoor facilities for pickleball play at the pavilion at Franke Park.