East Dearborn Has A New Park For Kids

DEARBORN, MI — Local children now have more spots to play outdoors with the opening of Graham Street Park, located on Graham Street between Wyoming and Lonyo Streets in east Dearborn.

The park will be a mixed-use area consisting of a miniature soccer field and an ADA-compliant play area with swings, a slide, a seesaw and more. There are also walking paths, benches and picnic tables that are ADA-accessible. In addition, new shrubbery and small trees will be planted later this year to provide shade and an environmental mitigation of air pollution.

The installation of the park was made possible by the City of Dearborn Planning Division working in conjunction with Beaumont Health/Healthy Dearborn, Wayne County and the Dearborn Recreation and Parks Department. Six adjacent vacant lots on Graham Street were redeveloped to create a park that is both accessible and enjoyable to neighborhood residents.

To ensure the park met the needs and wants of the community, the Planning Division had several meetings with local residents throughout the planning and development period, during which play equipment and park designs were selected so that the space would reflect the visions, aspirations and history of those using the park.

“I’m just ecstatic that we were able to reach and engage residents in this area and have them be a part of something that’s positive and builds community,” said Sara Gleicher, project manager of Healthy Dearborn.

The park redevelopment project was funded in part by a $63,000 grant provided jointly by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and the nonprofit organization KaBOOM! to redevelop the 19,800-square-foot area.

The grant was given through KaBOOM! and the Wilson Foundation’s Play Everywhere Challenge, which strives to provide children across Southeast Michigan and Western New York with more opportunities for kid-driven play through the creation of unique play areas focused on the customized needs of the community.