City seeks to connect more people within greenspaces

Janet Imrick

Randolph Hub

ASHEBORO – Asheboro has partnered with area graduate students so that people with communication-related disabilities can enjoy the city's parks. The City Council heard a presentation about that project at its Aug. 8 meeting, the same day they voted to take the next step in creating a greenway in north Asheboro.

Communication Boards

Cultural and Recreational Services Director Jonathan Sermon introduced Brooke Parks, a student at UNC-Greensboro.

Parks said she and other students designed Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) boards for the Zoo City Sportsplex and at Frazier, Eastside, Memorial, and North Asheboro Parks. The boards use a picture-based system so that people who have problems with verbal communication can point to icons to indicate what they need.

The pictures represent common phrases, playground activities, locations, and different park facilities. "We meticulously selected appropriate symbols and core words that would be appropriate for children of all ages," said Parks.

Parks told council members this was a capstone project as part of earning a master's in speech-language pathology. The students held training for recreational staff and hosted an education day for the public to learn how the AAC boards work.

"As an Asheboro native and part-time Asheboro cultural and recreational services employee for six years, this project has meant a lot to me personally and professionally," said Parks.

Designing a Greenway

The city will request $134,000 to help design the proposed North Asheboro Greenway. That design will help define the greenway's corridor, projected to run 1.8 miles along Hasketts Creek from Vision Drive to West Central Avenue. Council members voted to authorize application submission with a deadline in September.

Planning Director Trevor Nuttall said design drawings will be helpful when they put out bids. The city council adopted a feasibility study for the greenway project at their July 11 meeting. The study estimated it will cost around $4 million.