- Community volunteers and the Integrity Foundation rebuilt West Valley City's Parkway Park playground on Wednesday.
- The new inclusive playground features 39 accessible elements and a Sky Tower slide.
- West Valley City Mayor Karen Lang called the community effort as an investment in residents' quality of life.
WEST VALLEY CITY — Community pride was on full display Wednesday as Utahns came together to rebuild an aging West Valley playground — all in a matter of hours.
Employees with the Integrity Foundation, along with volunteers, spent the day at Parkway Park, transforming the 40-year-old play area into a new, fully inclusive playground designed to accommodate children of all abilities, according to a press release from the nonprofit organization.
"The rebuild of Parkway Park is an investment in the quality of life for our residents and a place where families, kids, and neighbors can come and spend time together," West Valley Mayor Karan Lang said in a statement.
New features in the 6,923 square-foot play area of the park include sensory-rich elements, a safe, fully artificial turf surface and a "beyond compliant" approach to ADA standards with 39 accessible playground elements, fit to provide space for more than 200 children, leaders with the foundation said.
Additionally, the playground now has a new main structure, a bridged Sky Tower with double 14-foot-tall spiral tube slides.
The project was a partnership between West Valley and Integrity, a Dallas-based distributor of life and health insurance. Hundreds of the company's local employees teamed up with community members to pull off the rebuild in under eight hours.
Ben Asper, a West Valley resident and Integrity employee, said he has memories of going to the park as a child, but also noticed that the playground had become worn down. He and his son live just blocks away from it, and he was excited to participate in building something that kids like his can enjoy for many years to come.
"My son was the first person down the huge slide, and seeing how happy he was made me incredibly grateful to work for a company who cares so much about investing in the communities where we live and work," he said.
Company leaders said this project, along with others they've led in different communities, highlights their commitment to corporate service and the revitalization of local public spaces.
Integrity's CEO and co-founder, Bryan W. Adams, said seeing the effort to build something that makes a difference for the West Valley community come together in such a short time was inspiring to be a part of.
"This playground is more than just a place to play, it's a place where every child can feel included, connected and like they truly belong. We're incredibly proud to be part of something that will serve this community for generations," he said in a statement.
Mayor Lang expressed gratitude to all who were involved in turning "a vision into a top-flight park our city can be proud of."
The park is located at 3405 Parkway Boulevard in West Valley.
