A Picnic Table & Inclusion in Perinton, NY

When we get invited to a party, we visualize the camaraderie, conversations, and good food that comes with a gathering of family and friends. For people with disabilities and especially ones for which mobility devices make getting around easier, the iconic picnic most often means finding a place at the end of a picnic table with not enough room under it before hitting the table legs. Or sticking out behind others who sit on unmovable benches.

Without accessible picnic tables, there is no choice of where one sits, no certainty of equitable access to conversation and engagement.

For many of the 26% of people living with a disability, this is a reality they encounter at many parks, these very places where families and friends, co-workers, and community groups often gather for celebrations and meetings.

This summer, The Perinton Recreation & Parks Department and Fairport Rotary teamed up to change that story for their residents and guests at three of their parks. With the addition of tables with cutouts that provide unobstructed access, their parks become even more welcoming for people with disabilities.

Children, parents, grandparents, friends…you are now welcome to enjoy each other together at Center Park West, Perinton Park, and Fellows Road Park, thanks to the intentional, strategic installment of accessible picnic tables!

A picnic table. Such a small gesture, really. But how cool it is when everyone in the group can say, “Well look at that! They must have known I was coming!”

As Rochester Accessible Adventures continue to follow the national standards for increasing equitable access to the outdoors for people with disabilities, we take note of projects like this. Locally, we know that many of the 300,000+ people living with a disability or medical diagnosis are looking for more places in the outdoors that are expecting them. We applaud Perinton Recreation and Parks for keeping inclusion at the forefront of their strategic planning! Inclusion takes planning and strategy — and great community partnerships that make it happen.

Congratulations to Fairport Rotary for your work and your award of the 2023 GVRPS Inclusion Program of Excellence!