PLAYGROUND DESIGN

LEATHERS & ASSOCIATES
The internationally renowned playground design company, Leathers & Associates of Ithaca, NY, was hired by Friends of Tillery park to assist with this special community-built project. Leathers' community playground concepts have been featured in Smithsonian magazine, Readers Digest and on Sesame Street. They have successfully completed over 1,800 playgrounds worldwide. www.leathersassociates.com.

DESIGN DAY On February 1, 2007 the community hosted Design Day with John Dean, a Leathers designer, who spent the day meeting with children and members of the community, listening to ideas and creating a customized design for the park. Through drawing, talking and building prototypes of equipment from cardboard boxes and tubes, the youngsters told designers they wanted a fun, safe, creative place to be a Click HERE to see Proposed Playground Design and Equipment Sponsorship.

SAFETY & ACCESSIBILTY
Leathers playgrounds are built with a combination of plastic composite lumber and arsenic-free treated wood. The composite material, which has the look and feel of wood, is used for most contact surfaces such as decking and handrails. Leathers volunteer-built structures are designed with strict adherence to all applicable nationally recognized playground safety standards and guidelines, ensuring safety and durability. All of the company's playgrounds meet the latest safety standards and accessibility (ADA) guidelines. Their designs conform with the Consumer product Safety Commission (CPSC) guidelines, American Standards for Testing Materials (ASTM) standards and Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) that are currently in place.

PLAYGROUND FAQs
What is the Tillery Park project?
A community-based effort to build an extraordinary public playground that will give our children a fun, safe and creative environment for play. This one-of-a-kind playground will be built entirely with donated funds, materials, labor and tools, all raised from local businesses, civic groups, families, individuals and available grant monies.

Why build a community-built playground?
A community-built playground provides an opportunity for many people in the Fort Worth area to come together for a common purpose in a highly visible, short-term project that will continue to be a source of community pride.Throughout the process, from design to fundraising, from coordination to actual building, schoolchildren, community leaders, businesses, civic groups and other volunteers work together in an example of true community collaboration.

Who will benefit?
All local residents and visitors will benefit from the new playground. Local youth participate in the design, planning, construction and everyday use of the park. The project will involve hundreds of community volunteers of all ages with benefits evident from one generation to another.

Where is the park located?
Tillery Park is located off Forest Park Boulevard and Rockridge Terrace,
just east of the Fort Worth Zoo.


When will the playground be built?
The new playground will be constructed by volunteers from the community using the old-fashioned "Barn-Raising" method over a five-day period, October 10-14, 2007. Click HERE for more information on Volunteer Opportunites. Email: info@tillerypark.org to Help us Build the new Playground.

How much will the playground project cost?
Through donations from corporations, charitable foundations and individuals, Friends of Tillery Park hope to raise $175,000. Click HERE for Donation Opportunities. Click HERE for a printable form.

For more information call email:info@tillerypark.org