BATHURST Regional Council is considering accessibility issues at the Adventure Playground after receiving a complaint from a concerned parent about one of the park’s slides.
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Sharon Evans raised the issue last week after seeing her son Saxon, who suffers from the rare Bardet-Biedl Syndrome, continuously struggle to use the equipment.
The condition can cause vision loss, obesity and kidney abnormalities, as well as making Saxon unstable on his feet and easily exhausted.
In a video Ms Evans posted to council’s Facebook page, which has now clocked up just short of 6000 views, Saxon needs the help of two bystanders to reach the top of the slide, which was built on a steep incline.
The video has received more than 70 comments, many from other parents saying their child faced the same issue, and has been shared more than 80 times.
Ms Evans told the Western Advocate she hoped council would see the video, hear other parents’ concerns and make adjustments so children of all abilities could play on the slide.
“I don’t want this whole park amended for my kid, I just want to see railings and stairs put in,” Ms Evans said.
“He can’t walk right around to the top because the grass is unlevel. It devastates you when you can’t take your child to the park [because it’s unsafe].”
Councillor Bobby Bourke said he and other councillors learned of the issue after reading the story in the February 3 edition of the Western Advocate and have since taken steps to see it rectified for all the parents concerned.
“As councillors, we’ve already spoken to the engineering department [of council] to see if there is anything we can do about the issue,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure it is to Australian standards and can be used by everyone.”
Cr Bourke acknowledged it was difficult to develop a playground that suited every child’s requirements, but said council was prepared to look at issues and offer solutions where possible, provided that members of the public make council aware of them.
“[The Adventure Playground] has been built to Australian standards, but we don’t know about issues until members of the public bring them up,” he said.
“When there is someone from the public who comes forward with problems we see what we can do.”
