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6 Lake Ann Park Accessibility CITY OF CHANHASSEN 7700 Market Boulevard PO Box 147 Chanhassen, MN 55317 Administration Phone 952.227.1100 Fax 952.227.1110 Building Inspections Phone 952.227.1180 Fax 952.227.1190 Engineering Phone 952.227.1160 Fax 952.227.1170 Finance Phone 952.227.1140 Fax 952.227.1110 Park & Recreation Phone 952.227.1120 Fax 952.227.1110 Recreation Center 2310 Coulter Boulevard Phone 952.227.1400 Fax 952.227.1404 Planning & Natural Resources Phone 952.2271130 Fax 952.227.1110 Public Works 1591 Park Road Phone 952.227.1300 Fax 952.227.1310 Senior Center Phone 952.227.1125 Fax 952.227.1110 Web Site www.cì.chanhassen.mn.us o MEMORANDUM TO: Todd Hoffman, Park & Recreation Director FROM: Jerry Ruegemer, Recreation Superintendent DATE: March 10, 2005 SUBJ: Accessibility Report, Lake Ann Park At last month's Park & Recreation Commission meeting, the Cornerstone Home School Group presented their findings on accessibility at Lake Ann. They made recommendations for improvements and the Park & Recreation Commission directed staff to follow up with some possible solutions. I will take each suggestion from their letter dated November 19 and provide information and guidance for a solution. 1. Add more handicapped accessible picnic tables and put one down by the beach with a path leading to it. Park maintenance staff has been busy converting 20 picnic tables into handicapped accessible tables. These 20 tables will be distributed throughout our park system this spring. Park crews will be instructed to place an accessible table by the beach and I will investigate whether we can coordinate some hard surfacing with another project that we will be constructing in 2005. 2. Add automatic doors and pull handles to the bathrooms. This request will need further investigation. The cost per door is expensive and a minimum of 30" of clearance is needed for the push button mechanism to work. There is not enough space to mount the push button on the building; but it could be mounted on a stand- alone pedestal, provided there is 30" of clearance. According to building codes, automatic doors are not required at this location. 3. Fill in the 4" gap between the beach path and the ramp to the dock. Also install cheek rails on the ramp and the dock for safety. The 4" gap certainly is a manageable problem. This is caused by fluctuating water levels in Lake Ann which creates pressure on the white plastic ramping. This pressure can pull the ramping away from the asphalt path, thus creating the gap. Park maintenance crews perform many tasks on a The City of Chanhassen · A growing community with clean lakes, quality schools, a charming downtown, thriving businesses, winding trails, and beautiful parks A great place to live, work, and play Cornerstone Home School Recommendations March 10, 2005 Page 2 daily basis and they can check the gap more frequently. Currently, there is a railing around the white plastic ramping near the water. The rest of the ramping is flush with the ground and therefore would not be effective. 4. Lower the public phone by three inches and add Braille numbers. I spoke with our pay phone provider, FSH Communications, and they indicated that our current pay phone was installed at 54-inches, which is compliant with ADA regulations. If the city would like a Braille phone, we would have to purchase a new phone, which FSH would install. 5. The incline leading up to the picnic area and picnic shelter is too steep. I am assuming this location is right by the main picnic pavilion at Lake Ann. The path was put in as a connector from the parking lot to the main path leading to the beach. It may not be possible to get the proper degree of slope per ADA requirements for the path on the hill. Another option would be to go through the turnaround area and connect to the main path leading to the beach. This path connects to the restrooms, concession stand, boat rentals and the beach. 6. Add a handicapped swing. Adding a handicapped swing would be a great addition to the playground equipment at Lake Ann. A couple of the swings that the Cornerstone Group showed the Park and Recreation Commission would work. The City certainly is interested in Cornerstone purchasing a handicapped swing and donating it to the City. Park maintenance crews would install the swing. It is the City of Chanhassen's mission to make improvements wherever possible. We thank the Cornerstone Home School Group for investing their time and providing a recommendation to the City. g:\park\jerry\comerstone recommendations Lake Ann CITY OF CHANHASSEN 7700 Market Boulevard PO Box 147 Chanhassen, MN 55317 Administration Phone: 952.227.1100 Fax: 952.227.1110 Building Inspections Phone: 952.227.1180 Fax: 952.227.1190 Engineering Phone: 952.227.1160 Fax: 952.227.1170 Finance Phone: 952.227.1140 Fax: 952.227.1110 Park & Recreation Phone: 952.227.1120 Fax: 952.227.1110 Recreation Center 2310 Coulter Boulevard Phone: 952.227.1400 Fax: 952.227.1404 Planning & Natural Resources Phone: 952.227.1130 Fax: 952.227.1110 Public Works 1591 Park Road Phone: 952.227.1300 Fax: 952.227.1310 Senior Center Phone: 952.227.1125 Fax: 952.227.1110 Web Site www.ci.chanhassen.mn.us MEMORANDUM TO: Todd Hoffman, Park and Recreation Director í. During the fall of 2005, fifth graders from the Cornerstone Home School Group participated in the Lego League which challenges teams to build Lego robots that perform specific tasks. As part of the competition, teams had to complete a community research project on accessibility. The Lego team chose Lake Ann Community Park. According to the group, Lake Ann received high marks overall on providing good accessibility to park users. However, through their research, they felt that Lake Ann needed a handicap swing. They are strongly considering purchasing a swing and would like to discuss this with the Park and Recreation Commission. The City of Chanhassen · A growing community with clean lakes, quality schools, a charming downtown, thriving businesses, winding trails, and beautiful parks. A great place to live, work, and play. FROM: Jerry Ruegemer, Recreation Superintendent DATE: February 11, 2005 SUBJ: Cornerstone Home School Group G:\P ARK\JERRY\05CornerstoneHorneSchooIGroup.DOC CITY OF CHANHASSEN January 18, 2005 7700 Market Boulevard PO Box 147 Chanhassen, MN 55317 Mr. Charlie Ramler P.O. Box 46673 Eden Prairie, MN 55344 Administration Phone: 952.227.1100 Fax: 952.227.1110 Dear Charlie: Finance Phone: 952.227.1140 Fax: 952.227.1110 On behalf of the City of Chanhassen, I would like to thank Simone, Hunter Graves, Aaron Schmitz, Zachary Toews, Timothy Zalusky, and you for performing research on hm:rdro~~faGcessibility at Lake Ann Park. The city is always interested in hearing feedback about our parks relating to accessibility. Since the inception of ADA requirements, park faciliJies and amenities were built to comply with these specifications; however, r the years regulations can change. The city has been proactive in addres of accessibility and we appreciate your thorough review of Lake Building Inspections Phone: 952.227.1180 Fax: 952.227.1190 Engineering Phone: 952.227.1160 Fax: 952.227.1170 Senior Center Phone: 952.227.1125 Fax: 952.227.1110 Your ideas~., Just to let yq; additional h held on surf hard surfaci disabilities. them further. build been a lot of Park & Recreation Phone: 952.227.1120 Fax: 952.227.1110 Recreation Center 2310 Coulter Boulevard Phone: 952.227.1400 Fax: 952.227.1404 Planning & Natural Resources Phone: 952.227.1130 Fax: 952.227.1110 The city Commission playgroUnds at Public Works 1591 Park Road Phone: 952.227.1300 Fax: 952.227.1310 I applaud your project. It state Web Site www.ci.chanhassen.mn.us Jerry Recreation Superintendent JR:k G:\P ARK\JERRY\rarnIer.doc The City 01 Chanhassen . A growing community with clean lakes, Quality schools, a charming downtown, thriving businesses, winding trails, and beautiful parks. A great place to live, work, and play. RECEIVED JAN 0 £) 2005 CITY OF C HANHASSEN ~ovemberI9,2004 Mayor Furlong and City Council Members City Hall 7700 Market Boulevard Chanhassen,~ 55317 Dear Mr. Mayor and City Council Members: We are a part of a 5th grade homeschool FIRST Lego League team. Lego League challenges us each year to build Lego robots to perform designated tasks, and we compete against other teams in Minnesota. Part of our challenge this year is to research handicap accessibility at a public place within our cornrnunity. We chose Lake Ann Park as our team's research area. We went to different places in the park and tried to locate both good and bad accessible areas. We found both. We think that you did a great job of making most of the park handicap accessible. It is very good that there are paths leading to most of the areas of the park. The rubber mats are great, except that they lead to a baby swing. A person who is handicapped couldn't swing in that swing. The fishing dock has a railing piece cut out so people in wheelchairs can fish. We really liked that. The park has two handicap accessible picnic tables. There were lots of handicap parking spots. The bathroom door widths, sink and toilet heights and distances were good. The pay phone has an amplifier for those people with hearing problems. Overall, we found Lake Ann Park to be very handicap accessible. However, we have some suggestions for improving handicap accessibility at the park: · Add more handicap accessible picnic tables, and put one down by the beach with a path leading to it · Add automatic doors and pull handles to the bathrooms. It is very difficult to get into the bathrooms, especially the women's. We actually checked this out with a borrowed wheelchair! · Fill in the 4" gap between the beach path and the ramp to the dock. A wheelchair could easily overturn or get stuck in that gap. Also, install cheek rails on the ramp and the dock for safety. · Lower the public phone by three inches, and add Braille numbers. We measured the phone height and found that the phone is a little too high for someone in a wheelchair because although they can reach the numbers, they can't reach the coin slot. · The hill leading up to or from the picnic area and public shelter is pretty hard for a wheelchair to get up or down. The incline in some areas is not very good because it is a couple of degrees too steep, which makes it difficult for a wheelchair to go up the path. · Add a handicap swing. We found several options online and have enclosed some of our suggestions. The members of our Lego League team think that it is important for thè park to have a handicap swing, and we are thinking about raising funds ourselves to buy one. We think that the City ofChanhassen has done a wonderful job making Lake Ann Park accessible. Making the above changes would help handicapped people be better able to enjoy Lake Ann Park just like others already do. We have had a lot of fun learning and researching the American Disabilities Act and have enjoyed spending time at Lake Ann. Please take into consideration our suggestions for improving the park. Thank you for your time in reading this letter. Best Regards, "Sonic Boom" FIRST Lego League Team ~V~ Hunter Graves C h (}¡f1 I ; ~ r<.t.{ VVI / ! Charlie Ramler ~m~ SImone Ramler ¡l,t. J/ûrl~ ~j/)/1!lL,1 ,":,1'/ œ ~chmItz !'ijif Zachary Toews ~ð d-e-eÞJ'l- ,&)11nf~ I" ZcJt0 kv Ti~~ìhý Wusky I Cc: MÎ'.~eny:R.UegeiJ1er, Chanhassen Dêpartment ofFarks a.riâ"Rêèrœtîô:n Editor, Chanhassen Villager