BY ELAINE VAN DEVELDE
Staff Writer
EDISON — There has been no stopping the physically challenged population that has taken advantage of a county "barrier-free" facility in the past year.
With the first anniversary of the Middlesex County Level Playing Fields approaching, officials have found that there are many groups with disabilities using the award winning facility, which is one-of-a-kind in the area.
Since it opened in September 2003, the complex, in Roosevelt Park, has hosted several towns’ buddy ball leagues as well as the basketball and baseball teams from Edison’s JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute and Lakeview School, a facility for children afflicted with cerebral palsy.
The fields are "barrier-free," posing no recreational restrictions for physically challenged people.
While the barrier-free concept is one which eliminates what would normally pose problems, or raise barriers, for people with disabilities who attempt to play sports or exercise in a public park, this facility has gone above and beyond status quo standards.
The fields are comprised of vulcanized rubber surfaces to make mobility easy for wheelchairs and other equipment. Basketball and tennis courts are 100 percent wheelchair accessible and level to prevent accidents.
There are ramps, special rest room accommodations, a pavilion, playground and covered walkway. There is also a state-of-the-art skating rink, which is unique to the area, and plenty of handicapped parking.
The fields, county officials said, have given many physically challenged children athletic opportunities they may not have otherwise had.
"Children of all abilities now have a real shot at friendly ballfield competition," Middlesex County Freeholder Director David Crabiel said. "This facility is the crown jewel among the many beautiful parks and fields in our county parks system, and it means as much to us as to those who use it." The barrier-free sports center won two awards for surpassing Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
A few months ago, it received the Ruth Hughes Innovative Accessible Recreation Facility Award from the state at the 25th Annual Governor’s Conference on Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities. The facility’s accessibility to the general public and disabled is what garnered the recognition, according to Robert A. Hogan, a member of the awards committee.
"We wanted to reward a project that exceeded the standard in so many cases," he said. "This does that."
On March 16, the New Jersey Recreation and Park Association bestowed the Robert Kinsey Memorial Design Award on the park as well.
"We are very proud that we could fill the needs of so many of our residents," said Stephen J. "Pete" Dalina, deputy freeholder director and chairman of the county’s Parks and Recreation Committee. "It’s so great to see so many kids and their families taking advantage of the Level Playing Fields."