Playground Safety Design and Use

Playgrounds are meant to be used. Kids need fun and safe places to play to expend their energy, engage their creativity and contribute to their overall growth and well being.

Many playground designers (and buyers) focus on the aesthetics and then move right to cost. While this often produces an attractive and useable play area for kids, it often results in a less safe (over time) playground that requires more maintenance and up-keep.

Steps to Playground Design

There are some simple steps that can be taken to insure the play area will meet the needs of the kids as well as the construction and maintenance budgets available.

• Determine who is going to perform the required maintenance, how frequently maintenance will be provided and what skills the maintenance team will be able to provide.

• Make sure the product you choose to protect kids from head injury on the playground falls within the maintenance requirements that will be available for your site.

• Design your playground around the maintenance skills and schedule available for your site and within your budget to ensure the playground remains as safe in the last year of its service life as it is in the first year.

• Select a surfacing product that provides accessibility for all children in your community. Many “loose” surfacing products (sand, gravel, EWF, Nugget style rubber) don’t provide a suitable path for kids with physical ailments.

• Educate the buyer on the differences in the types of surfacing and their associated maintenance requirements so they are aware of what they will need to do to properly maintain the playground surfacing.

Not all surfacing products provide the same benefits and making your selection solely on the basis of aesthetics or cost can often lead to an unsafe or inaccessible surfacing over time.

Understanding the unique benefits of the different types of surfacing allows the designer to select a surfacing material that meets safety requirements and insures that the level and skill of the facility maintenance personnel will be consistent with the requirements of the surfacing type.

Following these simple tips will result in a fun and safe playground that can be enjoyed by the kids in the community for years to come!