Good parks and playground risk management practices are necessary to help reduce the risk of liability claims. As winter’s snow and rain leave and families visit parks and playgrounds more frequently, members should read these tips to protect resident parkgoers and their entity from liability claims.
- WAC 110-300-0146 requires certain types and depth of ground surfacing for playgrounds. Members must use approved surfacing: if using pea gravel or woodchips it must be at least nine inches deep, shredded recycled rubber at least six inches, and any other materials must have certificate of compliance labeled or documentation showing it meets ASTM standards F1292. For more details you can also review our playground fall protection guide.
- RMSA public works advisory standard: Members should retain documentation confirming annual inspections of parks and recreational facilities. The minimum frequency should be annually, but if your park is used frequently, more inspections should be done. Check out our public playground inspections guide for more details.
- Different equipment and parts of parks and playgrounds have different rates of deterioration or likelihood of hazards. Check out our playground high-frequency and low-frequency maintenance inspection checklists as well as guide to parks and recreational inspection frequency guide.
- Lookout for and remove or repair common trip hazards created by play structures or items on the playground. These include exposed concrete footings, sudden changes in surface elevations, tree roots and stumps, and rocks.
- To prevent injury, playground components should be inspected to verify there are no sharp edges, and moving components (swings, bridges, seesaws, merry-go-rounds, etc.) should be checked for any possible risk of crushing a child’s finger or other body parts.
- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has recommended several playground equipment not be used due to high rates of injury. These include heavy swings like animal figure swings, multiple occupancy/glider type swings, free swinging ropes that could fray or form a loop, and exercise rings/trapeze bars. If you have such equipment, RMSA recommends decommissioning them or providing clear and concise signage specifically for that equipment to keep users aware of the risk and how to use the equipment safely.