Every community member can come together to rebuild a park. However, even when the park’s a fun place to be, it can be unsafe if it’s left untouched for a long time. So, as you plan out your next park restoration project, follow these tips on how to restore an old community playground.
Research What You Buy
In theory, the best playground equipment can be what many parents used when they were children. However, since many professionals debate and say that it’s unsafe to use more archaic playground equipment like wooden playsets, many wooden play structures are disappearing.
As you realize, researching helps discover ways to revive an old playground. The best item to purchase is no longer wood; unless you aim to have a nature area, metal works better.
When planning your blueprints, focus on new structures to enhance the play area and create more accessible places to accommodate disabilities.
Inspect Your Equipment
The next step is to look over your equipment. Even as new playground pieces come out, it’s still important to look over the current stuff before upgrading or adding on. New equipment’s great, but what’s even better is a park with daily maintenance checks.
The daily inspections don’t need to be every day of the week; they can be once or twice a month—or more frequently, depending on the season.
Put Safety First
The one thing you want to focus on is safety. When building new equipment, all maintenance workers must follow the manufacturer’s instructions on building structures and avoid using specific cleaning products on playground sets.
Aside from maintenance personnel learning how to clean and maintain equipment, you should also be mindful about how many children utilize a piece of equipment at once. For example, the slide’s a fun element to have, but having too many kids on the platform can lead to fighting, pushing, kicking, and tripping.
So, keep the park structured by adding space and limiting the number of slides to one or two per side, so no one fights over who goes down first.
Replace Broken Equipment
For the renewal to succeed, your crew needs to be more on top of fixing or replacing any damaged equipment. For instance, a child on a swing can fall off if the chain links aren’t inspected.
So, keep safety above all else by replacing broken pieces right away rather than waiting until the last minute.
Change Your Play Area Surfacing
We remember playground surfacing from yesterday: there were woodchips for days! However, the best playground surfacing to use is rubber chips. Rubber chips are a synthetic alternative, and they last much longer than ordinary mulch.
All in all, the best way to learn how to restore an old community playground is to start here. Our tips help guide you in selecting the appropriate equipment to make needed updates, so all community members feel welcomed on the playground.
