News

Nov 01, 2024

New Greenbrae playground honors memory of 7-year-old boy

Dayna Quanbeck was attending a show by the Lego sculptor Sean Kenney when she saw it: a giant hummingbird built with 31,565 Lego bricks, its bill in an equally large Lego flower. Quanbeck immediately

Dayna Quanbeck was attending a show by the Lego sculptor Sean Kenney when she saw it: a giant hummingbird built with 31,565 Lego bricks, its bill in an equally large Lego flower.

Quanbeck immediately sought to buy the work, which she saw as a symbol of her late son Alex. The 7-year-old child, who died nearly five years ago when he was crushed by 300-pound rolling gate at his school in San Rafael, loved Legos and nature.

Now the Lego sculpture stands at Niven Park in Greenbrae as part of “Alex’s Playground and Discovery Gardens.” A ceremonial opening event is planned for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the park on Barry Way.

“He really loved life,” Quanbeck said Thursday. “He loved adventure, and would always find bugs, lizards and other creatures.”

The sculpture also evokes the name of the Hummingbird Alliance, a nonprofit the family formed after Alex’s death to push for stronger gate safety rules. Alex told his mother several months before he died that if anything ever happened to him, he would be a baby hummingbird so that he could be with her.

The day after he died, Quanbeck said, “I saw a small hummingbird in our garden. It was there for a brief moment and then it flew away with a friend.”

The family paid for the new playground and gardens at Niven Park.

“The Quanbecks have allowed us to produce something quite beautiful and bold in design,” said Rita Schock, project manager and an administrator for the Larkspur Parks and Recreation Department. “A lot of young families have moved into the area recently. This will provide a space for them to come in and enjoy themselves.”

The ceremony on Saturday will include firefighters, physicians, nurses and others who responded to Alex’s fatal accident at Mark Day School. After the ceremony, activities for young children, along with treats from Alex’s favorite merchants at nearby Bon Air Center, will be available, Schock said.

For Quanbeck, the new park features and the event are a celebration of Alex’s life.

“We built the play area that we knew Alex would love,” she said. “Hopefully we’ve created a way that families can come and gather together and have a little bit of fun.”

The Quanbecks lived in Greenbrae before Alex’s death but moved to San Francisco afterward. They have three other children.

Since the death, the Quanbecks have strived to improve gate safety. Their work focuses on how the tragedy could have been prevented if gate contractors were required to install a $50 part called a post stop that prevent rolling gates from falling down if the wheels come off track.

So far, the state Assembly has passed AB 2149, or “Alex’s Law,” championed by Assemblyman Damon Connolly, a San Rafael resident. If it becomes law, AB 2149 would mean owners of regulated gates would need to have their gates inspected by a safety professional by July 2026 and have them reinspected every five years.

Violators will be required to stop using their gates until they are repaired by a licensed contractor. A gate in violation will be declared a public nuisance if the owner fails to comply with the law 30 days after being notified about the violation, according to the bill.

Larkspur and San Rafael have already strengthened their gate safety regulations.

The Quanbecks’ work could be having an effect outside California. During construction at Niven Park, Schock said she had a phone conversation with a technician for the Midwest gate manufacturer on the project. She mentioned the city’s interest in installing the safety device to keep the gate at the park from falling over.

“This was talked about when I went to a convention for the American Fence Association,” the technician told Schock. “We all feel this is a really great thing.”

Dayna Quanbeck said the anecdote from Schock was “kind of kismet” for her to hear.

“Change is happening” she said. “When you’re in the thick of the work, it’s hard to know that.”