The City of Doral is being honored by KaBOOM! as a 2010 “Playful City USA Community” for its lasting commitment to take action for play. Along with 118 communities across 36 states, the City of Doral has made it a priority to focus not only on the number of play spaces, but their quality and accessibility, as well. KaBOOM!, a national non-profit, recognized 118 U. S. cities as “Playful City USA” communities, including Doral in a national recognition program honoring cities and towns prioritizing play and venues. “We are proud of the recognition as a Playful City USA, as this is a testament to the City of Doral’s commitment to creating spaces for safe play for our children, and helping our residents stay healthy,” said Doral Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez. Doral set out to improve its quality of play by approving a Parks System Master Plan to meet resident parks and recreation needs that will include opening Doral Veterans Park in November 2010 and developing the City’s first dog park. In support of the initiative, a “Back-2- School” Tennis Block drew more than 100 tennis- toting smallfry on August 21. The City is also taking steps to make existing parks more engaging and exciting, opening batting cages at Doral Meadow Park, and soon-to-be lighted playgrounds at both Doral Meadow and Morgan Levy Parks. Lighting will provide longer operation hours and improve safety and maintenance inspections. The City of Doral is also continuing plans to build a bikeway to allow safe access to neighborhood parks and schools for cycling residents. Such efforts led.KaBOOM! to select Doral for its outstanding dedication to play and to serve as a role model for other communities, proving that enhancing children’s well being by increasing the opportunity for play is an attainable goal, Mayor Bermudez said. “An extreme misconception exists in our country that play among children is a luxury when, in fact, it’s an absolute necessity,” said Darell Hammond, KaBOOM! CEO and Co-founder. “For decades, this notion dominated our actions and we continue to see the damaging results: a monumental lack of play spaces for children and sky-rocketing childhood obesity rates.” KaBOOM! is headquartered in Washington, D. C. with additional information available at www.kaboom.org.
