Goleta will soon have an all inclusive playground, allowing all children, regardless of their abilities, to play together.
On Wednesday, the Goleta Parks and Recreation Commission selected the final design for a universal playground at Stow Grove Park at 580 North La Patera Lane. The playground will include a wheelchair-accessible swing and spinner, multiuser swings, ramp structures, and soft material allowing children to scoot, crawl and climb on structures.
Commissioner Timothy Philibosian said he was glad to see the design include all the elements the commission wanted.
“I really like it, I think it looks fantastic,” Philibosian said. “I’m excited for it, I think it’ll be a lot of fun, I think kids will like it.”
Commissioner Stacie Furia said the kids in her neighborhood “flipped out” when she showed them the designs for the park.
“I think it looks amazing, I’m really excited, excited for all of our neighborhood kids to get to experience this,” Furia said.
In January the commission reviewed two options for the playground and asked for a third option that included elements of both designs. Specifically they wanted both the Super NetPlex Tower, an inclusive, enclosed climbing tower, and the Quantis M.2 inclusive net play structure.
To incorporate both elements, JoAnne Plummer, Goleta’s Neighborhood Services director, did say they had to let go of a ramped play structure that originally connected to the Super NetPlex Tower and a log crawl tunnel; however, that was replaced by a chill spinner.
The final cost of the playground has yet to be determined. Plummer said they are going back into negotiations with the designer after the projected cost was different from what they expected.
The commission also selected a layout for an accessible, gender-neutral bathroom facility that will be built next to the playground. The facility will include three wheelchair-accessible bathrooms, one of which will include an adult-size changing table.
“This is going to be our only universal playground in Goleta for now, but because of our lack of parks with parking lots, I cannot envision that we would have another fully accessible playground,” Plummer said. “We’re gonna see people from all over Goleta and even outside of Goleta coming to this park, and to have children of any ability be able to use the park is important to us, as well as use the restroom, if the need appears.”
Funding for the project came from a California State Parks grant.
Plummer said the city expects to go out to bid for construction late this fall with construction starting at the beginning of 2026, and construction has to be completed by September 2026.
