Parkitects builds new fully accessible playground for Lyndonville school
Lyndonville grad Ben Frasier owns company and wants phase 2 with a bigger playground for older elementary kids
Photos by Tom Rivers
LYNDONVILLE – Ben Frasier, a 1988 Lyndonville graduate and owner of Parkitects, checks out a new sensory dome in the playground by the elementary school. The sensory dome is an intended spot for children on the autism spectrum to get away from the activity and noise from the other parts of the playground.
Frasier and a team of 18 Parkitects employees spent most of the day installing a new playground at Lyndonville.
Frasier and Parkitects donated about $250,000 in equipment and in-kind services to the playground. The school district also was able to use $160,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for playground equipment.
Parkitects employees get wheelbarrow loads of concrete for footers to hold down the new playground equipment.
Orleans Ready Mix donated concrete for the project. Those donations were lined up by Steve Grabowski, the district’s director of facilities.
Other donations included:
Watson Construction Group with removal/demolition of all of the old playground equipment and 14 inches of mulch; Barre Stone Company with 100 tons of crusher run stone; Shelby Crushed Stone with 100 tons of crusher run stone; Town of Yates with hauling the stone to the school; and Medina Lumber & Hardware with pressure treated 2×12’s covering 228 linear feet around the perimeter.
The new playground includes a We-Go-Round, Sway Fun Glider, We-Saw and other equipment that will be accessible to kids of all abilities and mobilities. The previous playground was over 20 years old and wasn’t handicapped accessible.
A 3 1/2-inch thick rubber material will be added next week. It takes 48 hours for that rubber to cure after being poured. Ben Frasier said he expects the new playground will be open for children in about two weeks.
The playground equipment is stainless steel and manufactured by Landscape Structures. Frasier has been part of Parkitects for 29 years. The company is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Frasier said the new playground is phase 1 of an initiative to give Lyndonville the best his company has to offer.
Frasier, during an August Board of Education meeting, said he has profound memories of growing up in Lyndonville and playing on the former wooden playground at the school. The community came together nearly 50 years ago to build that playground.
“This playground taught me about the power of community,” he said showing a photo of the former site.
Frasier wants phase 2 to a be a larger playground for older kids in the elementary school. He believes the project can happen through fund-raising, grants and donations.
Phase 2 would include some larger equipment including Super Netplex Towers, ZipKrooz, Oodles Swing, Sensory Tunnel, Rollerslide with Exit Bench, and a 7-Post Hex Net. Frasier would like to see the next phase installed in about a year.
Phase 3 could include a shelter for parents and grandparents to stay in the shade while children are on the playground.
Ben Frasier tries out the We-Go-Round. It has space for children in wheelchairs to get inside and enjoy the ride.
