Help me build an awesome playground! - Page 2

[serenbat]

I have been reading this for sometime and we live in a city with several new playgrounds and frankly most are not very usable!

The equipment is one thing, there just seems to be a few things that are missing (may or may not apply in your case OP) - #1 bathrooms! lack there of- older people and small children go- and local stores (one new playground is not even near anything!!) don't take kindly to asking and when none are around that shortens or doesn't even make us want to go there

#2 seating - if you are elderly and are watching small children - good luck having a seat (in my area) - we have one and they only have ONE bench 

Quote:

Depends on your location but some shade or shelter from the elements is nice for caregivers and to give the kids a break when they aren't on the play equipment. I find it's often an overlooked amenity in many playgrounds. 

me too!!

#3 I would love some SHADE added to a playground - for the young parent with the baby and the older grandparents, with seats under it

these tend to be all after thoughts (as when the complaints come in)

doesn't matter how great the stuff is for the kids, if the person going along is not happy with the accommodations-IMO 

good luck

[rachelsmama]

Teeter-totters.  They're getting scarce, but they are very, very, very popular with the kids I know, to the point that I've seen dd and her friend build one themselves, and my kids specifically request to go find one. 
 

[yaM yaM]

Serenbat, all good points.  There's currently no funding available for building a bathroom or providing any additional shade at this park, but there are some large nearby trees that shade the area significantly.  Benches are coming along with the equipment we're purchasing and there are already multiple table/chair sets at the site.  I'm definitely in agreement about caregiver comfort level!

Rachelsmama, that is good to learn!  One of the items we're ordering (the Periwinkle) is a teeter totter for little ones.  :D

[serenbat]

bathrooms are a make or break for us- simply needing to wash hands!

we have one park and it over looks the local river- very nice equipment, lots of stuff to do, a nice stone wall to look at the river so your back is to the playground (so smart!!), and now ONE bench for the whole area & no bathroom and no place near by to go  no one uses it and they spent a ton to do and it's maybe 3 years old and every time you go past - no one there

[elus0814]

Honestly I'm not sure why bathrooms would be needed in a neighborhood playground. Lack of bathrooms would probably discourage people from outside the neighborhood from driving in to use it. 

I do agree with others that it would be disappointing for a playground to be built for 'older kids and teenagers' while not providing any appropriate place for younger kids to play. It seems odd for any playground to be built with teenagers in mind. All I've ever seen teens do at playgrounds is make noise and smoke.

Benches with some sort of shade would be great. There are lots of shade structures available to match the equipment.

Definitely keep any combined structures open so parents can most all of it. Kids tend to hide in little nooks and you never know if a creepy adult is sitting in there.

FWIW, there are spring mounted things here for kids to play on and I have never seen one broken although they get lots of use.

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by elus0814 

Honestly I'm not sure why bathrooms would be needed in a neighborhood playground. Lack of bathrooms would probably discourage people from outside the neighborhood from driving in to use it. 

I do agree with others that it would be disappointing for a playground to be built for 'older kids and teenagers' while not providing any appropriate place for younger kids to play. It seems odd for any playground to be built with teenagers in mind. All I've ever seen teens do at playgrounds is make noise and smoke.

I've been caught short needing a bathroom, either for my kids or myself, at the neighbourhood playground. It's a pain to have to pack everyone up and go home just for that reason. It's also convenient to have bathrooms a few steps away during the potty learning years. I know some people allow their children to use the bushes or grass in the playground when there are no bathrooms but that's not something I could ever bring myself to do with my kids. 

Also, I'm not sure why anyone would want to discourage people from outside a neighbourhood to drive in to use it. That sounds very insular.

I feel for teenagers. It seems like once kids get to be about 13 or so, everyone would appreciate it if they just disappeared from the landscape. I'm not sure where they are supposed to hang out. No one wants them in neighbourhood parks. The malls discourage them from collecting there. If they are lounging around street corners, people are wary. I suspect the ideal for many people would be for teenagers to spend 6 years of their lives cocooned in their bedrooms or parents' basements until they emerged as fully formed adults ready to go to college or join the working world. Sad. 

[34me]

I work for a city P&R department.  Unfortunately, bathrooms are REALLY expensive.  Honestly with their budget, if they put in bathrooms there would probably be just a bench and a trash barrel.  They way I'm understanding it this is a neighborhood park, not a destintion park.  So it is going to be waaay cool.

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by 34me 

I work for a city P&R department.  Unfortunately, bathrooms are REALLY expensive.  Honestly with their budget, if they put in bathrooms there would probably be just a bench and a trash barrel.  They way I'm understanding it this is a neighborhood park, not a destintion park.  So it is going to be waaay cool.

Yeah, I know that there is a budget issue, as the OP mentioned. I guess I'm just envious of all of the non-North American countries that seem to be able to provide public toilets, not just in parks (duh, obvious place, as far as I'm concerned) but also elsewhere in their cities. Clean, well-maintained public toilets. What a novel concept. Sigh.  

[elus0814]

Originally Posted by ollyoxenfree 

I've been caught short needing a bathroom, either for my kids or myself, at the neighbourhood playground. It's a pain to have to pack everyone up and go home just for that reason. It's also convenient to have bathrooms a few steps away during the potty learning years. I know some people allow their children to use the bushes or grass in the playground when there are no bathrooms but that's not something I could ever bring myself to do with my kids. 

Also, I'm not sure why anyone would want to discourage people from outside a neighbourhood to drive in to use it. That sounds very insular.

I feel for teenagers. It seems like once kids get to be about 13 or so, everyone would appreciate it if they just disappeared from the landscape. I'm not sure where they are supposed to hang out. No one wants them in neighbourhood parks. The malls discourage them from collecting there. If they are lounging around street corners, people are wary. I suspect the ideal for many people would be for teenagers to spend 6 years of their lives cocooned in their bedrooms or parents' basements until they emerged as fully formed adults ready to go to college or join the working world. Sad. 

Having lived near a neighborhood playground I have to say that I don't really want people driving in from outside the neighborhood, parking in front of my house, letting their kids walk on/play in my yard and make noise or trample plants, allow their kids to take toys from our yard to the playground, leave garbage at the playground or in my yard, and bring obnoxious kids who 'claim' the playground as their own then yell at kids who live there when they try to play. Maybe it's selfish but there are plenty of public playgrounds, a playground a neighborhood pays for and maintains doesn't need to be available to the public just like a swing set in someone's backyard doesn't need to be open to whomever happens to be driving by. 

I didn't say I don't feel for teenagers or think they should hide away. I said that it seems odd to me to create a 'play space' for teens but not bother to make one for little kids. It's great if they want to make a place for teens but, if they do, there should be a place for toddlers as well. At the playground we lived near the only time teens came by was to sit around (not a big deal), talk loudly, swear, smoke, drink, and make out. They would leave cigarette butts and empty drink bottles laying around. When people came by with kids they would see the teens and leave. This was in a nice, upscale area. The play equipment there was plenty big enough for the teens to go on but they choose to sit around and do other things. I'm not sure how much use a teen play area would get. In my experience teens would be more likely to hang out at picnic tables or benches, which would be nice for everyone anyway.

Bathrooms are a different issue. I can see both sides of it. I think the biggest problem, aside from initial cost, would be maintaining the bathrooms. Someone would have to go there daily to clean them, refill the toilet paper, check for maintenance problems, etc. When a sink breaks or a toilet overflows there could be a big mess to clean and expensive repairs to deal with. Probably less of an issue but still possible is people using the bathrooms for drug use or just for shelter if they are homeless. I can see where a small group wouldn't want to deal with all that and/or would rather not put up the money to build and maintain them. I don't think the lack of bathrooms would be all that unusual but maybe it's a regional thing. I'm trying to think of any relatively small neighborhood playgrounds where bathrooms are available and can't come up with any. I know I wouldn't expect bathrooms at a playground.