YOUR FORUM FOR PLAY, SPORTS UND LEISURE AREAS
Zweibrücken is a city of about 35,000 inhabitants in the southwest of Rhineland-Palatinate in the immediate vicinity of France and Saarland. Despite tight budgets, Germany's smallest independent city has so far managed every year to renovate or fundamentally redesign at least one playground in the city and its districts, thus meeting the changing demands on leisure and play values.
One major project that has been realised over several construction phases and is still in progress is the "Kleiner Exerzierplatz" (small parade ground). The name dates back to the turn of the century when this area in the former castle gardens was actually used as a parade ground for the garrisons of Zweibrücken. Later, it served as a festival and racing ground where the first horse race of Zweibrücken took place, which still exists today at a different location.
In the 1990s, with the expansion of the adjacent school centre "Helmholtz-Gymnasium", in which two grammar schools were combined, the elementary outdoor sports facilities that were needed for school sports were built, with short-distance running tracks, long jump/shot put and several all-weather pitches. With the subsequent development of the park - which is commonly known as Kleiner Exe - into an inner-city green space, also a new playground has been created.
When the structures and play offers of this play area were no longer “up to date” and the possibilities for entertainment had been exhausted, a fundamental renewal and modernisation of the play areas at Kleiner Exe should be implemented
In 2015, the Youth Welfare Office, which is responsible for public playgrounds in the city of Zweibrücken, started planning the first construction phases of the playground area with special attention to the needs of people with disabilities. It should be ensured that the facilities are barrier-free and allow for inclusive play.
The planning process, which was implemented by the planning department of the green spaces and cemeteries department of the municipal environmental and service company Zweibrücken (UBZ) was focused on dividing the entire area of the Kleiner Exe into different functional areas, such as (school and mass) sports area, general play area and water play area, with the play areas together covering approx. 4,500 square metres.
Water playground
The first major new part of the facility, the water playground, was opened in June 2017 with the Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer, and the former Minister of the Environment, Ulrike Höfken. As part of the " Stadt am Wasser" ("City by the Water") project funded by the federal land of Rhineland-Palatinate, the Schwarzbach and Bleicherbach streams in the city centre of Zweibrücken, which also cross the Kleiner Exe, have been upgraded in urban planning, tourism and ecological terms.
The new water playground is an attraction for children of all ages. A pirate island is reached via large stone blocks. On the shore there is a sandy beach to the Bleicherbach stream, which in turn feeds the numerous water play equipment and dam channels.
Sandpits invite to touch the mud. Swings, slides, hammocks and climbing towers provide further opportunities for active play.
Trampoline carousel: a barrier-free play area
Although, due to the nature of the island and the sandy beach, the needs of children with impaired motor skills in particular could not be taken into account in all areas, their considerations were at the forefront of the next development phase: for the barrier-free play area "trampoline carousel", a special carousel suitable for wheelchairs was selected in accordance with DIN 33942 (barrier-free playground equipment), as well as a trampoline that is also accessible to wheelchair users via lowered edgings which can be played on either alone or with assistance. The safety areas around the carousel are marked with coloured contrasting dots on the wheelchair-friendly fall protection surface, and a stand has been set up next to the bench for prams and wheelchairs - for children or adult companions. The green planners at UBZ also explicitly planned "general" playground and equipment elements, such as additional trampolines at different heights and a rotating, sculptural seating ring, so that a variety of incentives for integrative play has been created as well as an attractive play area for everyone.
In addition, there is a skating area, a climbing area with a rope net climber and several artificial climbing rocks, a Kneipp basin, a drinking water fountain, a "senior fitness facility" with age-appropriate training offers, benches suitable for senior citizens and a barrier-free toilet facility.
The existing open spaces and meadows are used extensively by families for picnics in summer.
Inclusive large playground equipment
In addition to the aforementioned offers, it was important to us to integrate a larger play facility into the concept, which should offer play opportunities for all age groups and abilities. With the company Hags, we found a partner who was able to implement our ideas in a very good way while staying within the budget.
Thanks to the flexibility of the UniPlay system, the facility was adapted both to the customer's wishes and to the existing terrain.
The core elements of the barrier-free part of the facility are, on the one hand, the central platform, which can be reached step-free via a ramp, with interactive play opportunities towards the neighbouring sand play area, and, above all, the access to the wave slide and the attractive spiral tube slide, which can be accessed via close-meshed nets and closed coverings - if necessary, with support from outside - and even with motor impairments.
Both slide outlets end in the fall protection surface made of wooden chips, but in a wheelchair-friendly way on islands made of bound fall protection surface, which in turn are connected to the paved paths around them and thus ensure a barrier-free "ring connection" to the entry point.
The playground equipment was handed over in November 2020. In spring 2020, the toddlers' play area was also completed with playground equipment from the Hags company. The old sand play and mud area had previously been converted and equipped to make it barrier-free, including widened edge areas, access to the mud area and a wheelchair-accessible sand table. The existing small pavement has been adapted in its design and function to create a contrasting and tactile guiding line in the paved surfaces of the areas and paths, thus creating a connection to the other barrier-free, integrative area of the trampoline carousel and also creating attention areas in front of intersections with main paths.
What makes the "Kleiner Exe" play park special?
The " Kleiner Exe" is centrally located near the city centre and is easy to reach. The entrances are barrier-free, and separate parking spaces are designated for people with disabilities. The park-like grounds with lots of water and greenery and various seating areas and green spaces for spreading out a picnic blanket invite visitors to stay for longer. The offerings are extensive enough to include the whole family, from toddlers to grandparents.
The inclusive play offers are equally attractive for people with and without impairments and thus lead to "playing together".
The activities for senior citizens are also aimed at the residents of the adjacent retirement home with the goal of getting them "outside" and maintaining social contacts.
The outdoor sports facility is used by groups of all ages, be it for informal football or hockey games. Even sports that are not so well known in our country, such as cricket, are practised there.
This combination makes the " Kleiner Exe" unique in this region, so that it is not only very popular among local families, but has also increasingly developed into a destination for families from outside the region - and will hopefully develop even further when the skating area and the outdoor sports facilities are expanded in 2024 and completely redesigned with contemporary sports and leisure facilities.
