New inclusive playground in Travelers Rest set to open soon

TRAVELERS REST, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - A vision to have a playground at Trailblazer Park in Travelers Rest is starting to come to life.

“Let’s make it really unique and something special to Travelers Rest,” said Travelers Rest Mayor Brandy Amidon.

Construction on the playground began in April.

“As soon as the ground was broke on the spot, I had people calling me saying is the playground coming? What’s happening? What does it look like? What’s going to be there? And so just knowing the community is so excited, and knowing we’ve put a lot of hard work into this as well,” said Amidon.

A jungle gym, zip line, merry-go-round, and plenty of places for parents to sit are some of the main features of the new playground.

When it’s completed it will be the first inclusive playground in the city.

“We’ve had families over the years say ‘Brandy, please the next time you guys have an option to make a playground, make sure you include a swing for my daughter. Make sure you include something for my son to be able to use,” said Amidon.

Beth Casey lives near Trailblazer Park with her family, including her son Luke.

“It will be fun for us and for Luke to be able to come up and just play whenever we want to,” she said.

Beth and Luke have made it a point to walk by the playground to check on its progress lately.

“Luke is nine, and he’s special needs, so to go to a big playground where there’s tons of kids it’s a little more risky, so to be able to come to a little bit smaller, but more fun playground for him it will be a big, exciting change,” explained Beth.

The playground is a partnership between the City of Travelers Rest, Greenville County, and local businesses that pitched in to help with funding.

Trailblazer Park is already home to the Travelers Rest Farmers Market and free, city-sponsored events such as the Music in the Park Concert Series.

“Something’s going to be happening here all the time, and now we have the playground that complements that,” said Amidon.

Before the playground can open, some more infrastructure and landscaping pieces have to be put into place.

Amidon says the goal is to have a soft opening for the park around Memorial Day, followed by a full grand opening later in the summer.

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