14 Layout Considerations for your Playground Design
1. Organize zones to facilitate play and minimize conflicts, e.g. locate quiet play areas away from active spaces
2. Provide areas that encourage group interaction as well as places from solitary and partner play
3. Avoid putting high-activity zones close to transitional zones
4. Locate compatible play zones close together, e.g. creative play and social play can be placed adjacent
5. Design all play zones for child-initiated activity
6. Locate play areas for toddler and areas involving quiet, creative activities near the entry to building
7. Use low, natural partitions and different surfacing materials to define zones, i.e. EWF hardwood fibers around swings, and pour-in-place rubber surfacing around the playsystem
8. Use space wisely, leaving some areas open. Cluttered playground detracts from children’s explorations and cause injuries
9. Plan zones to take advantage of any prominent or unusual elements, e.g. physical area around a sloped designed for running
10. Be sure that equipment landscaping do not interfere with visual supervision. Adults must have a clear line-of-sight
11. Retain as many existing trees, shrubs, and other landscaping as possible.
12. Locate equipment away from dumpsters, heavy traffic and loud noises. Plant trees or build fences and visual barriers to block nuisances.
13. Make sure site is accessible for maintenance and emergency equipment
14. Use your imagination. Paint stones, create a mural, make hand prints in cement. Cue children through the color, shape and type of materials that this is their place to play.
The following was adapted from Tracy Theemes’ “Let’s Go Outside! Designing the Early Childhood Playground”
If you’re looking for a fundraising partner or program, don’t forget to review the Fundraising Resources pages on the top right tab. If you are located in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, or North Carolina and would like assistance with designing your playground, please contact us at www.korkat.com
FAQ’s for Accessible Playgrounds-Are They Enforceable?
As law, no they haven’t been enforced–yet. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. In 2000, the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board issued a final rule in the form of accessibility guidelines to serve as the basis for standards to be adopted by the Department of Justice for new construction and alterations of play areas by the ADA.–as from the National Program for Playground Safety website.
These guidelines have not been adopted by law, but they provide playground operators with a blueprint for an accessible playground.
Accessibility Guidelines for Play Areas: An Overview
Are these amendments enforceable at this time?
No. The ADA design standards are developed in a two step process. They are first published by the Access Board as a minimum guideline for the Department of Justice (DOJ). DOJ is responsible for adopting enforceable standards that are consistent with the Board’s minimum guidelines. Currently, these final guidelines are not yet part of DOJ’s enforceable standard. However, people may wish to consult the guidelines in the interim since the current enforceable standard does not specifically address play areas. (The absence of specific provisions in the current standards does not mean that play areas are exempt from the provision of access under the ADA; rather, it means that play areas are not held to a specific level of access under the current standard).
Definitions
Several defined terms are key to understanding the guidelines. These include “play components,” which are manufactured or natural elements used for play, socialization, or learning. Two types of play components are distinguished: ground level and elevated.
Ground level play components are those approached and exited at ground level, such as spring rockers, swings, and stand-alone climbers (left).
Elevated play components are approached above or below grade and are part of composite structures that provide a variety of play activities (right).
Minimum Number
The guidelines require looking at play areas as a collection of individual play components to determine the minimum amount required to be accessible. Minimum requirements are based on the number of components provided for a play area.
Ground Level Play Components
There are two criteria for ground level play components which must be met, although the same accessible components can be used to satisfy both:
- access it required to at least one of each type provided
- the minimum number and variety is also determined by the number of elevated play components provided.
Get complete ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) for Play Areas here.
Mara Kaplan, Let Kids Play, also has a wonderful site on accessible playgrounds
Don’t forget to reference the Fundraising Resources page on the top right tab, for products and resources to help you with your playground fundraiser. If you are planning an accessible playground in the Southeast and would like design advice, for meeting accessibility guidelines please contact us.
