Funding Playground Improvements

Memphis, Tenn. and Kansas City, Mo. are two cities that are accomplishing the same goals. Both are improving the playgrounds within their borders, but they took different routes to accomplishing their goals.

Both cities are unique in their own ways, yet they have a lot in common. Music is an important element in both cities as well as their food, with both being barbecue hotbeds.

Memphis is recognized as the birthplace of the blues and was the home of Elvis Presley. Graceland is the second most visited house in the country behind only the White House. Shortly after World War I, Kansas City became a place to hear the best jazz in the country.

Both cities are known for their barbecue as Memphis hosts the Memphis in May festival where the world comes to compete in the International BBQ cooking contest. Kansas City boasts more than 60 barbecue restaurants and numerous cook-off competitions, calling itself "arguably the nation's barbecue capital."

Memphis Playgrounds

In the mid-1990s, a general obligation bond was issued to help renovate the playgrounds throughout the city. Prior to the bond issue the playgrounds were tested and were found to have high amounts of lead paint. The city took all of the play equipment out at one time, and currently about half of the parks have received new playgrounds.

Wayne Boyer was appointed Executive Director for the Division of Park Services for the city shortly before the lead was discovered. He said that he was on the job only a few days when a reporter called him asking about the Consumer Product Safety Commission's tests.

"I said 'great, this is a good way to start a job,'" he said. "It really turned out to be a blessing in disguise."

When Boyer and his staff went and inspected the playgrounds they found that not only was there high amounts of lead, but many of the playgrounds lacked adequate safety surfacing and were not meeting current safety requirements. Boyer met with the mayor and informed the city what was happening and it was decided that removing the play equipment was the lesser of two evils.

"We've been going back as quickly as possible trying to redesign well thought out park and playground components to replace the playground equipment that was removed," said Mike Flowers, a Landscape Architect with the City of Memphis Planning & Development Division of Park Services. "We've probably got a little more than half of them done. We're looking at another 2-3 years to get them all completed."

Although this was quite a task, the playgrounds were all removed by abatement, it worked out well for Memphis and adequate funding was put into place through the bonds to get the new and safe playgrounds in. Boyer said that most playgrounds cost between $350,000-$400,000 apiece.

"We were aware that all the equipment didn't meet the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the National Playground Safety Institute, and the American's with Disabilities Act requirements, and we were aware of what was needed," said Park Planner for the City of Memphis Larry Keenan. "We did manage to convince city administration that this was an important need and we deemed it our number one priority in the city.

"We hope to have every playground replaced, in fact this is a mayoral promise to have every playground replaced by 2004."

Citizen Feedback

Flowers said parents often ask when the new equipment will be put in, but they understand it is a timely process that will only benefit their children in the end. At the parks that have new play equipment, Flowers said parents have given him a lot of positive feedback about the poured in place safety surfacing that all the new parks have. It depends on the contractor as to what type of safety surfacing is used, but according to Flowers, Hauppauge, NY-based Vitricon is used mostly throughout the city. Vitricon manufactures Vitriturf, which is a seamless, cushioned safety surfacing system.

Safety surfacing for so many playgrounds can put a strain on any budget, which is the biggest challenge Flowers says that he faces.

"The Vitriturf is quite expensive, but the decision was made that that was what we needed to be using because we felt it was the best," he said. "Memphis has gone all out with using poured-in-place surfacing."

The surfacing may be expensive but it pays off in other areas, such as maintenance, where an understaffed maintenance crew has a tough time keeping up with the demands that such a large park system carries. With a sand surface, the maintenance crew would have to rake the area for excrement, sweep down the equipment and surrounding area where sand has collected and rake for uniform depth. Maintenance at a poured in place playground is fairly easy.

"When we go into a park we not only do the playgrounds and the surfacing but we try to take a comprehensive look at the park," Boyer said. "We look at everything from the landscaping to the lighting to parking. We don't do any of that until we go out and have a meeting with the neighborhoods, because they drive the project. We really believe that every project needs to be customer driven."

The Matrix

With community centers, neighborhood parks and city parks all in the mix, the city needed a way to create the best playground that would meet the needs of the individual park. A matrix was developed for each type of park.

"We had a discussion about how big our playgrounds should be, because we have close to 200 parks here in the city and within that system we've got about 120 playground locations," Keenan said. "Some playgrounds require larger and more elaborate facilities than others."

Criteria used in developing the matrix included: is the park adjacent to an elementary school; is it adjacent to a community center; is it a large park that attracts a lot of people; is it a small neighborhood park that serves a few local residents, etc.

With only so much money to put into the playgrounds the matrix allows for the money to be spent in the most appropriate way for the size of the park being furnished.

"We had to come up with some criteria so if we're questioned as to why one playground is larger than the other, we have a rational reason to make that decision," Keenan said. "We spend the money accordingly."

There are three Landscape Architects working for the City of Memphis who are designing the playgrounds. Flowers said 10-15 landscape architecture firms in the city have consulted on the playground redesigns. Landscape architect and architecture teams have come together for improvements to community centers and their parks. Three more community centers are scheduled to be built early next year bringing the total number of community centers in the city to 28.

Several vendors have been qualified by the City of Memphis to supply play equipment to the parks. According to Flowers, Landscape Structures; Little Tykes; Playworld Systems; and Recreation Creations have all supplied equipment to the city.

"We've been putting in mostly Little Tykes with the rest Playworld Systems," he said. "But it's up to the contractor as to what is put in."

The City of Memphis continues to support the playground improvements. For fiscal year '02, through the sale of bonds, the city has allowed for $60 million in capital improvements to the parks alone.

"We took this sow's ear and turned it into the silk purse," Boyer said.

Kansas City Playgrounds

In 1983, residents of Kansas City approved a 1/2 cent sales tax for capital improvement items throughout the city. Presently the city is reviewing improvement requests for year 19 sales tax. The revenue generated over a yearly period is disbursed apportionately through six councilmanic districts within the city.

The process begins with residents submitting a Public Improvement Advisory Committee (PIAC) request to the city. The requested projects are submitted to the respective departments to prepare a detailed cost estimate for that request. This year the deadline to submit PIAC requests was August 31. When completed, the request with the cost estimate is reviewed by the committee to determine which projects should be funded for the next year.

The Process

This year, city Landscape Architects will install 15 new play areas, nearly double the yearly average of eight. Funding comes from not only the sales tax, but from corporate and private donations, as well as other sources.

"We have been providing play area designs and installations for the city since the 1970s using various funding sources," said Jim O'Shea, ASLA, a Landscape Architect with the Park Planning and Design Services Division of Kansas City, Mo. Parks and Recreation Department. "Those sources include Community Development Block Grant Funds, Land and Water Conservation Funding or budgeted city funds for playground installations. Since 1983, most of the funding for all of the new play areas has been received from the 1/2 cent sales tax program."

On the average, the city spends between $80,000-$100,000 for each play area. The play area consists of an accessible path from the parking area to the play area. The play area is surrounded by a concrete curb with usually a main structure of varied play components having ADA transfer access and on-ground play elements. O'Shea said that most play areas have poured-in-place material with a shock pad and rubberized surfacing.

"We cannot always use poured-in-place rubberized surfacing, so we are occasionally using wood fiber cushioning material that meets ADA requirements," said Jocelyn Ball, ASLA, a Landscape Architect with the Planning and Design Services Division of Kansas City, Mo. Parks and Recreation Department. "It is less expensive on the front end, but we expect there will be increased maintenance costs later."

Each group of play areas are designed to a specific manufactured playground, allowing several playground manufacturers to be used on a rotating basis, according to O'Shea. He added the manufacturers that have been used include BCI Burke; Playworld Systems; Landscape Structures; Miracle; Little Tykes; and Park Structures.

Coordination

With so many play areas being developed, coordination between all parties involved is key.

Once funding for playgrounds is approved O'Shea said they will meet with a neighborhood representative or selected group of people to determine what the play area should contain as far as equipment. The site then needs to be selected and if necessary, a topographic survey is performed. The play area conceptual designs are prepared and reviewed by the committee for additional input and comments.

"All this goes to an Autocad technician to draw up," O'Shea said. "Detailed written specifications are prepared and typed up and the project is ready for the contract administration/bidding process."

This process involves 21 days of advertising for bids, thereafter the bids are opened, reviewed, approved or rejected and contracts are signed. According to Ball, it generally takes anywhere from several weeks to three months to get a Notice to Proceed.

The work schedule is determined by the contractor and the weather.

"The weather here in Kansas City is a considerable challenge, particularly with play areas using rubberized surfacing, which has to be poured at 40 degrees or warmer," Ball said. "Some years we can build off and on through the winter, other years we are shut down from October to March due to cold. The heavy rains in spring and fall can also be a problem. So the weather is certainly a determining factor in our process."

Despite the challenges, there are rewards, and it is seen in the faces of the children and parents who will use the parks and playgrounds in the years to come.

"I started designing playgrounds in 1973 when wood equipment was popular," O'Shea said. "With the changes in material and design standards each year a new challenge exists with each design. The present guidelines and design standards enforce how the play area should be perceived, but it is up to the Landscape Architect to identify the community needs and convey them into a workable design while addressing all the constraints and limitations."

For two cities that have so much in common, it doesn't matter who has the best barbecue, best form of music or way to get playground improvements funded. What matters is a city with safe, accessible, and fun playgrounds.