Hawaii is one of seven states that does not have a plan to design or build a public playground dedicated to the disabled.

The other states with that distinction are: Alaska, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming.

But Hawaii lawmakers are now hoping the City and County of Honolulu can take the Aloha State off the short list.

During the 2013 legislative session Senate Resolution 148 urged Honolulu to build a park for the visually impaired.

And this month City Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi introduced her own resolution that aims to follow through with that request.

According to the resolutions, about 1.2 percent of the state’s population is eligible for Blind and Disabled Supplemental Security Income.

If Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation builds a new public playground the hope is that it will allow “visually impaired children to freely explore and interact with their families and friends in a safe, welcoming and developmentally enriching environment.”

Some of the required features of a playground that’s safe the visually impaired include ramps, warning tiles, rubber surfaces, buckets swings and railings.

Photo: Courtesy of Flikr via kafka4prez

—Nick Grube