December 2012 - Parks & Recreation - 64

operations
Best-Laid Plans
Surfacing for inclusive playgrounds involves
complex trade-offs.
BY AMY K APP

HE 2010 AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) Standards for
Accessible Design require park and recreation agencies to comply with
the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) F1951 standard
for surface accessibility in all newly constructed or altered public playgrounds.
Accessible surfacing is not a new concept for the industry, which has long espoused the beneﬁts of inclusive play; however, the process of choosing appropriate surfacing can be complex, considering the unique geography, budgets,
and resources of communities.
The one-year ﬁndings of a ﬁve-year
study by the National Center on Accessibility (NCA), titled " A Longitudinal Study of Playground Surfaces to
Evaluate Accessibility, " identiﬁed ﬁve
categories of surfacing put forth as
accessible by manufacturers, including engineered wood ﬁber, shredded rubber, poured-in-place surfaces,
rubber mat (tile) surfaces, and hybrid
services (under development). These
surfaces differ in terms of cost, installation, and care, underscoring the
need for public agencies to do their
homework.

Before You Buy
" Agencies never have enough money to
do everything. They have to prioritize, "
says Tom Kalousek, a certiﬁed playground safety inspector for 17 years and
director of Safe Play for All. " Sometimes
they are less concerned about surfacing...they buy the equipment ﬁrst. But
from the standpoint of safety and accessibility, surfacing is really the highest priority. "
Kalousek asserts planning and layout
as the ﬁrst critical steps in playground
development, followed by determining all minimum accessibility requirements, and choosing the speciﬁc
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Parks & Recreation

equipment and appropriate surfacing
materials. By understanding that surfacing is relevant for every aspect of a
playground's design, from the width,
slope, and elevation of routes to all freestanding equipment, to their subsequent use zones, agencies will be in a
better position to determine the surfacing that will meet their needs for safety
and accessibility.
Jennifer Skulski, director of marketing and special projects for NCA
and author of the longitudinal study,
states that regardless of the surfacing agencies choose, site surveys are
important.
" We looked at a handful of [playground] sites where, because they
looked ﬂat, no site surveys were done, "
Skulski says, referring to the NCA longitudinal study's ﬁve-year ﬁndings (to
be published in 2013). " After the surfaces were installed, equipment was
moved, and based on the existing grade
of the sites, the access routes became
inaccessible. "
Skulski also cautions agencies to be
aware of water runoff, which can negatively impact surfacing and accessibility. " You need to have a good drainage
system in place, " she says.

| DECEMBER 2012 | WWW.NRPA.ORG

Material Matters-Costs,
Durability, and Maintenance
So what type of surfacing is optimal?
And, how much will it cost? According to industry experts, these are questions with both short- and long-term
relevance.
" If you are the director of a park and
recreation agency, you are not just going to look at the cost to buy and install...you must factor in the cost of
maintenance, " states John McGovern,
president of Recreation Accessibility
Consultants, LLC.
McGovern says his ﬁrm usually sees
three types of accessible surfaces at
client sites: unitary surfaces, such as
poured-in-place and interlocking rubber
tile, and, only when regularly inspected
and frequently maintained, engineered
wood ﬁber. He recommends using unitary surfaces as a general practice, and
states while they tend to have higher

December 2012 - Parks & Recreation

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