Riverfront Spokane

Providence Playscape

As the City of Spokane's first all-inclusive playground, the Providence Playscape is designed to be physically and socially inclusive. The playground helps meet child development milestones, and offers activities that support physical, cognitive, social, and sensory needs.

The Providence Playscape is made possible through a generous community benefit grant from Providence Health Care. More than $1 million dollar community benefit grant over five years from Providence Health Care, through the Spokane Parks Foundation's Campaign for Riverfront.

Inclusion Matters by Shane’s Inspiration donated the playground design. Community focus groups made up of parents, children, and health professionals specializing in adaptive and sensory play provided input at multiple stages during development. Their expertise helped ensure the playground meets the diverse needs of our community.

Inclusive Design

The goal of Providence Playscape is to create a play environment that promotes social and physical inclusivity, allowing participants to interact and play more independently and equally with their siblings, buddies, caregivers and family members.

Promoting equality

• resilient surfacing allowing for free movement for children with assisted devices
• integrated activities that encourage exploration, problem solving, and discovery (sensory wall, music elements, rain maker, hopscotch)

Providing for all children

• sensory-rich, age appropriate, and multi-generational social play for all
• developmentally balanced, dynamic activities to promote physical activity and gross motor development skills
• cross-over benefits to a variety of user groups: Autism/ADHA/Downs/Mobility and Cognitive disabilities

Promoting independence

• allows children to effectively access, explore, engage and participate at their own level
• design layout with multi-sensory (auditory, visual, tactile) stimuli, organized to offer deliberate cues to build cognitive skills through repetitive solitary and parallel play (sand table, music elements, hopscotch, abacus, steppers, roller slide)

Provide varying levels of physical and social play

• play opportunities that allow children to maintain a neutral body position (roller table, high back swings, dish)
• play elements requiring reasonable manipulation to limit required effort or repetitive action (sensory wall, music elements, abacus)
• range of challenging opportunities to support diverse physical abilities (spinners, grass stix, rope climbers)

Provide a Comfortable, Safe Play Environment

• approach and reach abilities for wheelchair and able-bodied children
• safety fencing to support parent and caregiver attention
• emotional security support so children are more likely to engage (cozy dome)
• support body awareness (roller slide, balance beams, grass stix, wobble pod)

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Amenities

Size: 11,600 square feet

Number of play elements: More than 20 different types of inclusive play pieces

Surfacing: Colorful, resilient rubber surfacing creates ease of movement for wheels and walkers

Restrooms: Two family restrooms that are wheel chair accessible with adult-sized changing tables are available on-site.

Drinking Fountain: One drinking fountain available near the restrooms.

Seating: Benches and seating areas, several with receptacles for charging motorized chairs

Parking: An adjacent parking lot will have eight ADA parking stalls; currently three are available while the majority of the lot is closed for construction of the Post St. Bridge. Street parking is available along Post.

Hours

The Providence Playscape is open year-round, 6AM-Dusk.

Location

The Providence Playscape is located along the Howard Street Promenade just north of the orange bridge. View map.

Thank you to our donor

Thank you to our project partners