One of our goals at the City of Santa Ana is to ensure residents and visitors of all abilities can enjoy our programs and resources. Back in 1995, the Kiwanis Club of Santa Ana built the Kiwanis Barrier Free Playground at Thornton Park to provide accessible activities and equipment for children who use wheelchairs or have other accessibility needs. The park was the vision of longtime Santa Ana resident and dedicated volunteer George Upton, and in 2019, the playground was renamed in his honor following his passing.
After 30 years, the park needed a makeover, and the City of Santa Ana invested $2.3 million to completely redesign and rebuild the all-access playground. On March 4, the community gathered to celebrate the ribbon cutting of the new park playground. Mayor Pro Tem Benjamin Vazquez, Councilmember Phil Bacerra and Councilmember David Penaloza led the celebration. We were joined by the Kiwanis Club and students from nearby McFadden Intermediate School.
The park upgrades include:
- Universally accessible playground designed for children ages 2 through 12
- Complete with 10 slides, 9 spinners, 17 climbers, 5 swings, and a seesaw
- Interconnecting ramps and walkways to provide ADA accessible ingress and egress between parking areas and the playground
- Shade structures
- Lighting updates
- Drainage system
- Basketball court resurfacing
We invite everyone to come experience the George Upton All Access Park at Carl Thornton Park, located off S. Linda Way.