Olathe approved a $3.75 million playground project Tuesday designed to make a day at Two Trails Park more accessible, from reaching the play equipment to finding a restroom with an adult-sized changing table.
Variety KC will provide up to $3 million, with Olathe contributing up to $750,000 from park sales taxes. The City Council voted 7-0 on both the funding agreement and the transfer of the city’s matching money.
The project is planned for Two Trails Park, the 19-acre community park at 1000 N. Ridgeview Road that already includes a playground, baseball fields, tennis and pickleball courts, and a skate park.
Construction is anticipated to begin in summer 2027, with the new playground opening in spring 2028.
The improvements extend beyond playground equipment. The city’s location map identifies additional accessible parking next to the play area and replacement of an existing restroom building. Plans also include drinking-water facilities, lighting, landscaping and improvements to supporting park amenities.
The funding agreement spells out several features intended to make those spaces work for more families: rubberized surfacing instead of fiber mulch, a sensory garden, wheelchair-accessible picnic tables and an adult or universal changing table in each park restroom structure.
It also specifies steel slides to reduce static for children with cochlear implants and contrasting colors to assist children with visual impairments.
Accessible activity stations near slides would give children who do not use the slides opportunities to participate with friends. The agreement calls for wheelchair routes to designated accessible levels, while acknowledging that access to a structure’s highest level may not be achievable. Those requirements appear in the grant agreement attached to the council agenda.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Councilmember LeEtta Felter focused on another detail that can shape a family’s park visit: fencing.
She recalled questions about fencing at another accessible Olathe playground near 151st Street, explaining its importance for parents concerned about children running toward the road.
Felter also asked whether the city’s disability advisers could help shape the Two Trails design. Deputy Infrastructure Director Nate Baldwin said their input would be welcome.
The final layout has not been completed. Baldwin showed examples of features used at other Variety KC playgrounds and said design would follow the council’s approvals.
Those examples included interconnected accessible paths, inclusive swings, sensory and social spaces, fencing and gates, and restrooms with adult changing tables.
Variety KC will lead the design and construction, an arrangement Mayor John Bacon asked about during the discussion. Baldwin said the city would remain closely involved.
“We are a partner with them, so we’re there every step of the way,” Baldwin said.
The playground is part of Variety KC’s Ten Parks Project, a regional initiative supported by a $30 million commitment from the Peter and Veronica Mallouk Family Foundation. The program aims to create inclusive play spaces where children with different physical, sensory and cognitive abilities can participate together.
Olathe submitted its application in June, and city staff said Variety KC notified them in August that Two Trails had been selected for the grant. Tuesday’s votes approved the agreement and committed the city’s matching funds.
The city’s project fact sheet budgets $500,000 for design and $3.25 million for construction.
Olathe will retain responsibility for operating and maintaining the improvements. The agreement protects funded accessibility features from being materially reduced without Variety KC’s written approval and provides for independent maintenance and accessibility audits after opening.
Design work will determine how the required features fit together at Two Trails. The city’s current schedule calls for a construction award in summer 2027 and completion in spring 2028.
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