All-abilities park design unveiled during meeting at San Juan Center for Independence

• The park would be located on an 8-acre site at 317 E. Apache St., the site of the former Tibbetts Middle School.
• It is intended to serve as the first park in San Juan County that will provide universal accessibility and all-inclusive amenities for play, therapy and fitness.
• The entire park would be encircled by a fence with seven entry points.

FARMINGTON — Simulated mesas and streambeds, undulating skating mounds, bocce ball courts, in-ground trampolines, large boulders, outdoor classrooms and a "weeping" water rock feature are part of the final schematic design for Farmington's planned all-abilities park.

The design was unveiled to residents for the first time during a Sept. 26 public meeting at the San Juan Center for Independence in Farmington. Approximately three dozen people watched as Lana Idriss and Tess Houle of MRWM Landscape Architects, the Albuquerque firm that was hired to design the park, delivered a 45-minute presentation on the $13 million project.

The presentation also was scheduled to be delivered to members of the Farmington City Council during their Sept. 27 meeting.

Idriss and Houle began by providing an overview of the project, then moved on to its specific features. The approximately 8-acre site at 317 E. Apache St., the site of the former Tibbetts Middle School, is intended to serve as the first park in San Juan County that will provide universal accessibility and all-inclusive amenities for play, therapy and fitness.

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The park essentially would be divided into three zones — a west side anchored by a renovated existing building that would feature accessible family restrooms, a large activity area, meeting space and offices; a middle zone highlighted by a large play structure and various features that mimic the natural landscape of the county; and an east side consisting mostly of a large, turf field suitable for a variety of uses.

The entire park would be encircled by a fence with seven entry points, while inside that perimeter would run a paved walking loop with distance markers. The park features an elevation difference of several feet from the north side to the south side.

Designers of the project appear to have tried to provide something for nearly everyone. In addition to the aforementioned features, the park would include hammocks, gardens featuring native plants, sand play areas, embankment slides, bridges, ramps, stairs textured paths, rock "caves," a two-story tower, a zipline, a sledding mound, a multipurpose court, performance stages, gaming tables and plenty of playground equipment such as swings, see-saws, spinners and other attractions. Most of the latter elements would be accessible to people with disabilities.

Many parts of the park would be covered with large, colorful "sail" shades, while other areas would be surrounded by large groups of trees. Additional accessible family restrooms would be situated in the middle and east portions of the park, and parking lots would be located on the west and south sides. Parallel street parking would be available on the north side.

The project also would feature a small dog release area, so-called "quiet" areas suitable for yoga classes or private reading sessions, areas devoted to "small" play and "large" play, areas devoted to sensory engagement play such as a sound wall, music and whisper discs, picnic tables and shallow streambed structures meant to channel rainwater. The weeping water rock feature would emit small amounts of water over a textured rock face with the water being collected at the bottom in small ponds.

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The gates to the park would be closed at night in keeping with the city's existing ordinance, which limits access to all parks to 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Idriss and Houle said the project could be divided into four phases, with the first phase consisting of the renovation of the existing building on the west side. They said much of the work on that phase could be accomplished with widely available grant money and existing city funds, providing the entire project with a highly visible anchor segment.

The rest of the project would be divided into three additional phases as work progresses from west to east and fundraising efforts are maximized.

Visit cofallabilitiespark.org for more information.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.