Making surfacing a play asset: considerations for truly integrated play structures

Parks & Recreation, Feb, 2003 by Jean Schappet, Antonio Malkusak, Lawrence Bruya

When children of all abilities are given the opportunity to engage in true play, they play with purpose. With the right types of playground structures, one of those purposes can be learning important developmental skills.

True play is independent and self-directed. Through play, children achieve one of the most basic rights of being a person, the right to make choices. During play, all children make choices by gathering information through physical and sensory experiences and by watching other children at play. What's most interesting about observing children during play is that they seek out the experience that they currently need most for their development. Indeed, these play activities might be the best learning environment for all children. Learning isn't just being given information; it's assimilating that information into application. Children are actively involved in learning when they're playing.

Children are doing more than recreating when they play. They're exploring two compelling characteristics: who they are genetically and what their environment has to offer them. The explorations of children during play, and the input that they receive as a result of their childhood efforts, set the tone of their self-image and forge their perception of their competencies. An integrated playground that's designed to remove the barriers that limit children's explorations will support their need for independent, self-directed play.

Elements of Play

The elements that will most affect the usefulness and accessibility of a finished play area for all children are the pathways throughout and around the play environment, as well as the resilient safety surfacing materials in the use zones around the playground equipment. These "surfaces" can be the playground's best unnoticed asset for providing a barrier-free, universally accessible play environment.

There are many factors that should be considered when selecting the materials for the "surfacing." Most important, consider how the materials will be connected throughout the environment, including how the playground equipment is integrated into the overall playground design. The purpose of this article is to give a general overview of these crucial selections.

How can the surfacing elements be more important than the selection of play equipment or any of a multitude of other details relating to the overall design and usefulness of an integrated playground? The answer is at your feet. When a child can't get onto the playground or is prevented from moving from one area to another owing to an uneven surface connection or an inaccessible surface, the entire playground becomes a less valuable asset. Improper combinations of surfacing materials or poor construction details can become the chasm that prevents a child with a mobility impairment from playing with other children in a playground. Pathway and playground-use zone surfacing materials must be selected with care so that the transition from one type of surfacing material to another doesn't present a barrier or a hazard for a child using a wheelchair or other mobility device.

Understanding how these materials interact during use is helpful when deciding which materials to select for the accessible pathways and for resilient safety surfacing materials in the use zones around your playground equipment. Let's take a closer look at the factors that should govern your selection of surfacing materials.

Proper Pathways

The first necessary detail in designing a barrier-free, universally accessible playground is to connect a "handicapped accessible parking area" or public walkway to the accessible pathway that leads to the playground. Pathways must meet the following criteria:

* Be firm, stable and slip-resistant.

* Be at least 60" wide.

* Each section of the pathway must not exceed a grade of 1' of rise to each 20' of run.

* At the end of a section of pathway where the elevation has changed 1' in 20' of length, there must be a level section at least 60" long before another section of 1' to 20' grade can begin.

* Wheel stops or curbs must be provided, where necessary, to prevent children using wheelchairs from accidentally leaving the pathway.

The most suitable materials for accessible pathways are poured concrete or asphalt (smooth, pebble finish, scored or stamped with designs--colored or natural), pavers (brick, natural stone, interlocking pavers or "contribution" engraved bricks) or compacted stone dust. Each of these materials has a cost that varies depending on playground location. Some of these materials may have a longer service life depending on weather, flow of surface water and natural vegetation growing around and up through the pathway. When selecting these surfaces, consider adding texture and color. Children gather sensory information while they play, and this gathering is important to their development.

Materials that aren't acceptable for accessible pathways are any loose materials like sand, gravel, pea stone, rice stone or river rock. These materials aren't firm and stable. Pathways aren't considered accessible if undeveloped with grass, compacted soil or clay; these materials are not slip-resistant.