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Playing it Safe

Common Ground
July/August 2011
By Michele Molnar

Playgrounds inspire smiles, laughter and learning, but they require planning, inspection and thoughtful policies.

When families started defecting to another playground outside its community, the Winterset 1B Homeowners Association board in Owings Mills, Md., knew it was time to replace its 15-year-old wooden play structure.

“It seemed no matter how much we repaired it, kids were getting splinters, or nails would start sticking out. Wood is a lot of upkeep—with power washing, sealants and trying to make sure it’s safe for the kids,” says Angela Ally, board vice president at Winterset 1B, which has 151 townhomes.

Playgrounds can be a valuable community amenity, but there are safety, liability and accessibility concerns, in addition to budget constraints. However, there’s a stronger argument for playgrounds now than ever before. Simply put, they are critical to the health and development of children, and community associations can help lead the charge.

The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, the first comprehensive guidance on physical activity ever published by the federal government, recommend that children and adolescents perform 60 minutes or more of physical activity daily. In 2009, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reported that more than 24 percent of U.S. children ages 2 to 5 are overweight or obese.

The climbing, jumping, pulling up and swinging that children do on playgrounds helps them gain physical agility and ability, get stronger and stay healthy. It’s on playgrounds that children can learn the joy and habit of moving that lays the groundwork for a lifetime of physical activity.

There’s an academic benefit as well. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education cites research connecting students’ physical abilities and test scores. In a 2009 study, physically fit public school students in New York City demonstrated higher academic achievement than their peers. An extensive evaluation of 2.4 million Texas students in 2007 and 2008 found that those who were physically fit did better on statewide tests, attended school more often and had fewer discipline issues.

A playground is one of the first places that children learn to play together, fostering the development of their own emotional and social intelligence in areas like sharing, helping one another and taking turns.

Winterset understood the importance of its playground to the community, so it hired Sport Systems, Inc., from Ijamsville, Md., in December to install a brightly colored, cheery playground. So far, the children love it, and their parents value its safety. “I’ve been receiving a lot of positive feedback, and we believe it adds value to the community,” Ally says.

Perils of Play

Playground dangers—even with new equipment—are well documented. The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that more than 200,000 injuries requiring emergency room treatment occur every year on public playgrounds across the country. Whether it’s on home or public playground equipment, about 80 percent of injuries are due to falls.

But that’s not the only way children can hurt themselves. In 2010, an 18-month-old in Des Moines, Iowa, wound up with second degree burns on her hands from a plastic slide that had been baking in the sun, according to KCCI CBS 8.

In fact, slides that face south or west—especially—should be in a shady area, says Donna Thompson, executive director of the National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS) and a faculty member of the University of Northern Iowa School of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Services.

Being curious, playful and inquisitive, children—and even teens—sometimes adapt play equipment for purposes it was not intended. Tying jump ropes, leashes or cords to playground equipment causes injuries every year, says Patty Davis, a spokeswoman for CPSC, which pushes for adult supervision and equipment inspection before children start playing.

Barefoot play is another hazard. In New York City, a woman allowed her son to run around on a black rubber surface on a sunny, hot day, burning his feet. “There’s no way a child should be running around a playground with bare feet. That’s a common-sense issue to me,” says George Herberger, vice president of Ben Shaffer & Associates, Inc., a Lake Hopatcong, N.J., firm that designs and inspects playgrounds.

Age Appropriate

Today, most new playgrounds are organized like Winterset’s—with areas distinctly divided for age-appropriate play.

NPPS promotes a segmented approach because children at different ages and stages explore their worlds in different ways. “Ideally, playgrounds will have separate sections for children under the age of 2, for those who are 2 to 5 and another for kids who are 5 to 12,” says Thompson.

The “under-2″ set needs a spot where they can safely move and explore, while perfecting their crawling, walking and standing. Preschoolers are ready to climb or walk onto low platforms that they can access with ramps and ladders. They need places where they can play in sand and water and manipulate materials. The preschool group also enjoys tricycle paths with various textures, flexible spring rockers and short slides no taller than 4 feet, according to NPPS.

Once they are in school, children are ready to tackle rope or chain climbers on angles and clamber over horizontal bars. They also enjoy cooperative pieces such as tire swings, slides and sliding poles.

Each age zone should be separated by space and marked with signs that inform adults which age group the play equipment is intended to serve. Thompson describes how one Florida community posted signs that indicated “Easy,” “Intermediate” and “Advanced.” A 3-year-old was seriously injured in a fall from a piece of playground equipment there, and ambiguous signs could have been a contributing factor, Thompson says.

Another issue on playgrounds is parents’ eagerness to “stretch” their children’s abilities by encouraging them to play on equipment that is beyond their level. With precise signs, parents are at least notified where a child should be playing.

Supervision Policies

Homeowners associations must make playground supervision an expectation. “I’ve never been on a case that didn’t have a supervision problem,” says Thompson, an expert witness in lawsuits involving serious playground accidents.

At a minimum, associations should place signs around the playground explaining the rules of the equipment and the requirement that play be actively monitored by adults. Attorney Robert Wilson-Hoss, principal of Hoss & Wilson-Hoss in Shelton, Wash., has advised homeowners associations for 25 years. In his own community, parents must sign a release once a year for a child to be allowed to play on the playgrounds.

When he counsels association clients, Wilson-Hoss recommends that they use a waiver of liability for settlements or verdicts over the available insurance policy limits for playgrounds and similar activities within the community. “What associations want to do is provide added value to people’s living experiences, and that always carries risk. First, they should address, ‘How do we create a safe place and supervise it so it (remains) safe?’ With that, 99.5 percent of problems are avoided,” he says.

After that, community associations need to decide how to handle incidental risk with their own legal advisors, who have their own risk tolerance and an understanding of laws in their state.

Accessibility

State law also is important as community associations consider the accessibility of playgrounds for children with disabilities.

Almost all playground equipment manufactured in the past five years meets Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, but some state provisions are more stringent, says John McGovern, president of Recreation Accessibility Consultants in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

The bigger problem for most community associations is inadequate access to playgrounds, which makes children in wheelchairs unable to reach them from the nearest paved surface. “There’s still a lingering belief that grass is an accessible surface,” McGovern explains.

Most playground manufacturers are well versed in accessibility. McGovern says they should know what needs to be installed and where it needs to placed.

Keith Lively, sales manager at Sport Systems, the manufacturer of Winterset 1B’s new equipment, says the company is always happy to design playgrounds with disabilities in mind. “Many homeowners associations have a play area (that was) put in years ago by the builder, and the site itself is not accessible. The hill may be too steep for a wheelchair, or a path has steps instead of a ramp,” he says.

Planning

When planning a new playground, Lively recommends children of various ages be asked to create a “wish list.” They know what fun equipment looks like, and their expert recommendations will result in the community making wise choices.

Popular features on playgrounds are changing constantly. Today, there’s a push toward free play, rock climbing and boulders, nets and wire climbs that don’t look so traditional. “Still, nothing substitutes for climbing, sliding and swinging,” says Lively.

Community associations that want to evaluate their playground can start by getting a copy of CPSC’s Public Playground Safety Handbook, considered the “holy grail” of playground design, says Herberger, the New Jersey playground designer.

Updated in November 2010, the book covers topics from playground surfaces to use zones. CPSC’s Davis says updated safety guidelines in this version offer more specificity on age differences for equipment and new shading recommendations.

Playground manufacturers and installers should be licensed and certified. And Thompson suggests association employees, volunteers and parents take NPPS courses, including online education, on how to supervise and inspect playgrounds.

The Sunriver Owners Association in Sunriver, Ore., trains and prepares key staff members for incident response. For example, paramedics are called if a child falls off a piece of equipment, but the association responds too. “Without interfering with any work of paramedics on site, our key goal would be to ascertain what happened, and what happened with any of our equipment or any of our facilities. We would inspect the equipment and interview people who are nearby,” says Hugh Palcic, CMCA, AMS, assistant general manager.

The association’s public works department writes a report, and if a piece of equipment needs to be red-tagged, or a repair is necessary, they take care of it.

A certified inspector should inspect all association-owned playgrounds annually, says Thompson. During the season when playgrounds are used (year-round in warm climates), the play areas should be examined at least once a week—if not daily—to make sure they are clean and safe and that the surface beneath the equipment is still deep enough to break falls.

In cold climates, the playground may need to be closed in the winter. “Your last line of defense is your surface. Once the ground is frozen, no one should be using your playground,” Herberger says.

The lifespan of a playground is generally 10 to 15 years, depending upon how well it has been maintained. Replacing playgrounds is part of many communities’ plans. Under Virginia law, homeowners associations are required to complete a scheduled replacement reserve study—including playgrounds—every five years, according to Jen Darwin, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, senior community manager for Sequoia Management Company in Chantilly, Va.

Foxborough Homeowners Association in Gainesville, Va., one of the 13 communities Darwin oversees, replaced an existing tot lot and expanded it with new swings and equipment for older children last year. “The community’s response has been great,” says Darwin.

The adults appreciate its bright appearance and safety, and the kids love the new equipment. Score another victory for extending outdoor, unstructured play for kids today.

Combining Forces for Playground Success

If your community wants support with playground upgrades and maintenance, you might consider a creative solution: approaching your local government about a joint-use agreement.

The public-private partnership may require open access to playgrounds for any child within municipal limits, but it has been working well in Greenbelt, Md., since the 1980s, when the city first partnered with a planned community.

Windsor Green Homeowners Association recently took advantage of the city’s offer. Under terms of the agreement, Greenbelt covers 75 percent of costs for new equipment, new surfacing materials and periodic replenishment of surfacing; the association covers the remaining 25 percent and is solely responsible for landscaping, trash, lighting, fencing and benches.

Several years of planning and coordination preceded the upgrades, but each of Windsor Green’s five major neighborhoods now has a new playground, one of which gained a paved pathway to make it wheelchair accessible.

“We have had quite an increase in the number of kids using the playgrounds. You can imagine why. The equipment went from being rusty and unappealing to new and attractive,” says Derek Thompson, who served as president of Windsor Green three times and now serves as a member of the CAI Maryland Legislative Action Committee.

It isn’t only the children who notice. Thompson believes the playgrounds have provided the community with a valuable amenity that has improved the marketability of homes.

The city is pleased with the arrangement too. “It’s provided us an opportunity to assist those communities in upgrading their playground equipment, but also opened those playgrounds to everyone within the city,” says Greenbelt’s Assistant City Manager David Moran.

Producing this kind of win-win is being promoted by two national organizations: KaBOOM!, a nonprofit dedicated to saving play for America’s children; and The National Policy & Legal Analysis Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity (NPLAN). Together, they are working on a joint-use agreement toolkit that soon will be available on NPLAN’s website. The toolkit will include templates for legal documents, a guide of best practices and webinars.

For more information about the Greenbelt collaboration and agreement, visit kaboom.org/docs/documents/pdf/playmatters/Play_Matters_Greenbelt.pdf.

To learn about the NPLAN toolkit, visit www.nplanonline.org. —M.M.

Hamilton Nissan documented the entire installation of their Eagle Play Structure with time lapsed photography.  Check it out!

Since 1979, when the first dog park opened in Berkeley, California, there has been a dog park boom in the United States. And no wonder. Approximately 60% of U.S. households own a pet, and 38% of those pets are dogs. That makes for a lot of people looking to exercise and socialize their pets. Taking your little (or not so little) pup to the local dog park can be a great activity, for your pet and the entire family.

Pet owners and non-pet owners alike can benefit from a dog park in their community. By providing contained areas where dogs can be off leash, dog parks can reduce the likelihood of dogs roaming neighborhood sidewalks and streets. And because dog parks are usually equipped with dog waste stations, pick-up bags, and trash receptacles with signage and instructions for pet owners, they can make for cleaner grassy areas and sidewalks intended for people. (Nothing ruins a fun game of Frisbee faster than an unfortunate misstep.) A cleaner, friendlier neighborhood encourages people to come out of their houses and spend time with neighbors and local business owners. And a strong community presence can make for a much safer community and more aware community members.

Besides benefiting the community, dog parks are wonderful for the dogs themselves and promote a healthy and safe pet population. Proper exercise is just as important for dogs as it is for people. A good 30-minute run around the park a few times a week is a great way to help your pet maintain a healthy weight. Most dog parks require proof of a rabies vaccination, so you can ensure that your pet is not only staying healthy, but he is playing with other healthy dogs who visit their vet regularly. Taking your dog to play with other dogs and humans also enables you to socialize your pet. Proper socialization reduces the worry when you to take your dog around town, near strangers, children, and other animals. And, of course, it’s no secret that happy dogs make for happy dog owners.

Things to consider when planning a dog park:

When designing and planning a dog park installation, there are several important aspects to consider.

1. Available Space:
One of the first things a planner should determine is the amount of space to dedicate to the dog park. There should be enough room to allow dogs to run around and play in groups. Utilizing as much space as possible allows dogs to benefit from the park more fully. When determining the park size, consider how busy the park will get on a beautiful weekend day. Know the size of your community and plan accordingly. The more space the better, but there may be limitations based on cost, location, or government rules and regulations. Building a dog park that is too small or crowds easily can create an unsafe or undesirable environment for  pets and pet owners. The more crowded the space, the more likely dogs will run into one another, and possibly people, when playing.

2. Dog Size:
Creating separate areas of the dog park for larger and smaller dogs is ideal. Dog sizes can range drastically, from two pounds to nearly 200 pounds. Allowing a two-pound dog to run around with 200-pound dogs could result in serious injury for the smaller dog. Providing a separate area for small dogs allows them to run and play “like the big dogs” but without the risk of being hurt, scared, or intimidated. You want dogs of all types to enjoy the park, so plan accordingly.

3. Safety While Entering and Exiting:
Entering and exiting a dog park is probably when people encounter the most confusion and stress. Making the transition into and out of the park as easy as possible can contribute greatly to a dog park’s success. By creating a separately fenced and gated area for entering and exiting, you can diffuse some of the stress, confusion, and excitement dogs experience when arriving at the park. Being able to unleash dogs in a fenced area separate from the main play space, where other animals would sniff and try to play, makes things easier for both the dog and dog owner. Such an area also allows owners to re-leash their dogs more easily when play time has ended. Using self-latching gates in these areas can ensure that gates are not left open.

4. Waste:
Waste stations are an important feature of any dog park. These stations should include signage reminding pet owners to clean up after their pets, bags for clean up, and a securely covered trash can to contain waste. Waste stations make clean up easy and more likely.

5. Furnishings & Fun:
Having fun is the primary reason pet owners take their pups to the dog park. There are a wide variety of features that can be permanently installed in your dog park to add interest, including jumping hoops, pet mirrors, decorative fire hydrants, and much more. But don’t forget the human companions when planning a dog park in your area. A few picnic tables and benches can make a big difference for pet owners.

The Eagle Play Structures team has installed dog parks all over the Mid-Atlantic region. If you are interested in installing a dog park in your community, contact an Eagle Play Structures representative today to see how we can create a fun place for dogs and dog owners alike. If you are outside of the Mid-Atlantic region, be sure to visit our online store at www.eagleplaycomponents.com.

The Eagle Play Structures team was able to enhance the Foxborough neighborhood site by expanding its existing playground, replacing the original, single play structure with a new and improved play structure, introducing swings for added enjoyment, and providing park amenities.

Foxborough Site

Rotationally-molded Wave Climb

Double-bay Swing Set

The CPSC published its Handbook of Public Playground Safety in 1981. It quickly became the “standard” by which manufacturers, public interest groups, and government agencies designed and/or evaluated the safety of public playground equipment. The CPSC’s Handbook for Public Playground Safety was written primarily as a tool for operators of public playgrounds, not as a set of  technical specifications for manufacturers. The document provides fundamental safety information in an effort to categorize the most dangerous playground safety issues. It is an essential tool in evaluating the safety of one’s playground environment. The CPSC’s Handbook for Public Playground Safety is available online in .PDF format.

Since the appearance of the CPSC’s Handbook, the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) has issued its “Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Playground Equipment for Public Use” (ASTM F1487). This active standard provides technical specifications for playground manufacturers to use in designing play equipment for the public sector.

According to Perry Perrett, a Certified Playground Safety Inspector recognized by the National Parks and Recreation’s Playground Safety Institute, “Most playgrounds in existence simply do no meet all the guidelines set forth by CPSC and ASTM. If a playground cannot be totally replaced with new equipment and built to the latest guidelines, an owner has a duty to identify and eliminate the most serious hazards.” There are a variety of conditions on playgrounds that can cause injuries. Some are obvious and others are more subtle. “Serious hazards” are classified as those causing permanent disability or death, like those described in the sections below.

Inadequate Safety Surfacing

According to the CPSC, more than 70% of injuries reported on playgrounds are from falls from equipment. It is essential to have suitable, resilient material underneath and around all playground equipment. The largest playground-related jury damage award in the U.S. went to a child and his family in Washington, D.C., who were awarded $14.4 million in compensation for injuries the child sustained falling from equipment placed over blacktop. Many resilient surfacing materials are available, ranging from simple wood chips to cast-in-place-urethane matting and interlocking rubber tiles.

Examples of Inadequate Safety Surfacing:

Examples of Adequate Safety Surfacing:

Poured-in-place urethane surfacing

Wood Carpet

Head Entrapments

Head entrapments are very common on older equipment. A preschool-aged child’s head is usually wider than his shoulders. When a child accidentally slips through a small opening, he/she often does so feet-first in what is essentially a free fall. If the child’s head cannot fit through an opening, the child’s entire body weight is placed on his neck, potentially resulting in strangulation or serious, permanent spinal injuries or brain damage. Both the CPSC and ASTM recommend that no openings on playground equipment, except those in contact with the ground, be between 3.5 and 9 inches wide (diameter).

Examples of Head Entrapment Hazards:

Pinch and Crush Points

Pinch and crush points occur when two opposing moving parts, such as swinging bridge planks or bridge-to-deck connections, have gaps where fingers, hands, and feet can fit into openings. When other equipment users walk across the bridge, such gaps can close with terrific force, causing severe injuries.

Examples of Pinch and Crush Points:

Protrusions

Protrusions include bolt ends, pipe ends, handgrips, etc., that protrude from equipment. When attached to a moving part, such as a spring animal, these protrusions can impale a child’s skull or eye socket and cause serious abrasions and lacerations.

Examples of Protrusions:

Handles on spring animals

Moving-Object Impact Injuries

Virtually every playground manufacturer has recalled board-type swings (swings that make use of heavy, animal forms used as swinging devices; trapeze bars; swinging metal rings; conventional seesaws; and the like), due to the danger of permanent bodily injury from their impact with equipment users and/or bystanders.

Improperly Spaced Equipment

A well-designed playground is laid out to permit a safe flow of activity from one feature to another. The CPSC and ASTM publish a variety of spacing guidelines for all types of play equipment. Such spacing recommendations address how close various pieces of play equipment can be to one another, as well as the width and depth of the safety surface required for various components.

Examples of Improperly Spaced Equipment:

“Common sense goes a long way in helping most people identify the most serious playground hazards,” says Perrett.  Written in laymen’s terms, the CPSC Handbook for Public Playground Safety is full of easy-to-read data and numerous illustrations that walk readers through a playground safety evaluation. Many companies, including Mid-Atlantic Sports, LLC, offer Certified Playground Safety Inspections to help playground owners assess the safety of their playgrounds.

One of the most common mistakes property owners and managers make is purchasing single-family, residential play equipment for use in a public playground. Residential play equipment is not designed with the requisite spacing, swing configurations, or multitude of other clearances and limitations proven safest for public play settings.

Most commercial play equipment is now modular. It can be designed to meet a facility’s immediate budget and be expanded at a later date. Unfortunately, not all commercial play structures on the market are designed in compliance with CPSC and ASTM guidelines. It is essential to seek a reputable manufacturer and contractor for your job. And be sure the contract states that the installation must comply with CPSC and ASTM guidelines.

Whether or not a new play structure is in your plans, it is imperative to inspect your current playground to immediately identify and address serious safety hazards.

Mid-Atlantic Sports, LLC, is a playground manufacturer and contractor based in Ijamsville, Maryland. It manufacturers Eagle Play Structures commercial playground equipment using metal, Poly Sleeve, and recycled plastic models.  Mid-Atlantic Sports also installs pavilions; site amenities; and tennis, basketball, and game courts.  For additional information, call 1-800-609-9966.

Tilford C. Jones / President, Sport Systems

“We continue to make  investments in the technologies that will move Eagle Play Structures forward, and this website is no exception,” said Perry Perret, Eagle Play Structures General Manager.  “The site’s new look, feel, and usability are now very much aligned with our product lines.”