When the re-envisioned Lock Park is complete, everybody will want to play there. More importantly, everybody will be able to. On Wednesday, the city of Lake Charles, LyondellBasell and Carbo Landscape Architects invited the public to help them design a park where play is possible for families of all abilities.

Wes Coleman was one of the design session participants. The 47-year-old was born with spina bifida, a birth defect that can affect the formation of the spinal cord.  As a child, he never dreamed of a future with a park that was fully-accessible.

“Getting medical resources was the primary focus,” he said. “You didn’t have time to worry about these things. To be a part of this in my adulthood…  I’m excited, not just for kids with spina bifida, but all the others as well, all the age groups, caregivers and parents. This park will be for everybody, all inclusive.”

Participants were able to review examples of how inclusive play has been done around the country in the first meeting room. In the second, activities were set up to prompt the sharing of favorite Lock Park memories and information that can help the landscape architects build character into the park. The second activity allowed “voting” on favorite possible park elements related to gathering comfort, sensory play, movement, discovery and more. Children were expected at the evening meeting to cast their votes.

Julia Bourgeois was at the noon meeting. She started Families for Inclusion in 2022 to help make Southwest Louisiana more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities after being inspired by peers who, like her, had a hard time finding inclusive play spots for their children.

She said getting the city onboard with the idea was not “super hard.”

“I feel like we introduced the concept to the City and they embraced it,” she said. “We’re very excited to incorporate inclusion in the LC Rebound project along with Lyondell. Mike Castillo had a vision, and we worked together on it, and were able to bring it to life to be able to see what we’re seeing here today.”

Sara Judson, Community Foundation, shared some of the early history of the park with landscape architect Amy Norville.

Ellen Goos Lock, created the park and named it  in memory of her husband, Capt. George Lock over 100 years ago, Judson said.

“It’s so hard to imagine – this was 1917 –a woman taking care of moving two houses on this property and supporting it. She hired Favrot & Livaudais Architects who did amazing work to design the pavilion, which is being rebuilt consistent with its original design – and the family has continued to support it all these years through the Lock Family Community Foundation fund.

The Lock Park transformation is being made possible through the successful passage of the LC Rebound tax neutral bond proposition passed by voters last fall and a generous contribution from LyondellBasell through the City’s Partners in Parks initiative.