Planning for a commercial playground begins by understanding what it has to have to be open to the public. To have successful commercial playground planning, it’s important to think about the:
Age Groups
Children grow and develop making their needs on the playground very different. Younger children might need more ground level equipment with lower steps while older ones need a variety of climbing equipment that requires them to support their full body weight. The American Society for Testing Materials, ASTM, recognizes three age groups:
- 2 – 5 years
- 5 – 12 years
- 2 – 12 years
Each group has requirements that meet the developmental needs of the children. This creates a safer environment for everyone. While there is equipment designed for 6 – 23 months, those regulations are no longer included in the ASTM standards. However, the CPSC has a list of recommended regulations to guide you while creating a playground and manufacturers still label their equipment with that group.
Playground Capacity
Knowing how many children will be on the playground at a time is necessary for safety. Too big a playground, it’s a waste of money. Too small a playground and it will be constantly overcrowded increasing the risk for injury.
While it’s easy to just assume that the total number of children in an area is the right size to make a playground, that is often not the case. For example, if a school designs a playground for 500 children because that’s how many kids they have at their school, it would be massive and often only work at partial capacity. Instead, start with the total number of children in an area and divide it by four. By doing this, you limit the amount of equipment needed and can increase the quality of the items purchased.
Space Available
This step is key to your design. If the land provided to you has too many problems, you cannot put a playground there. Before even measuring your space, check for the following:
Overhead power lines – If it goes through the center of your space, it might prevent the project from moving ahead. If it doesn’t, it’s important to see how much space is remaining and remember to leave ample space away from them.
Trees – More than likely you’ll have some in your space. Basically, you’ll need to decide if you can remove them or in some cases, you may just need to trim branches back.
Bodies of water – Water being nearby is not a problem per say, however, it is important to separate it from the playground with distance and a fence is recommended.
Drainage – Where water goes after rain, can be detrimental. If you build something in a swampy area, it won’t get used. And if it does get used, it will become a breeding ground for insects.
Next, it’s time to measure. We cover how use zones and measuring for them works in this post.
ADA Compliance
When putting in a public playground, it is important for it to be ADA Compliant. ADA Compliance is a set of codes to make playground equipment accessible to those who are differently abled, not just those who are in wheelchairs. When looking at playground equipment and surfacing, the vast majority are ADA Compliant, however, it is always a good idea to double-check.
Safety
The playground industry as a whole wants children to be safe which is why they formed the International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association, which is more commonly known as IPEMA. Equipment that is IPEMA certified has been through a rigorous testing process and meets a high level of standards. Look for IPEMA certifications on equipment when purchasing. They will either show up as a badge or in some cases, it will be attached as a downloadable document. If you are interested in a piece of equipment and are unsure if it is certified, reach out to the vendor or manufacturer and they will be able to tell you if it is.
Do you have questions? We can help!
Now that you understand the basics of a successful playground plan, we’ll talk about money and budgeting next week. For any playground questions, you can chat with us, email, or call us at (888) 342-8228. If you’d like more detailed help for your personal project, please fill out our Contact Us form.
