With efforts being made to promote playground safety through surfacing, companies are now stepping forward and offering safety options through playground borders and edging.

For some time now, LASN has been advocating alternatives to concrete edging around playgrounds. The use of concrete around a playground is usually more about economics than aesthetics. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission?EUR??,,????'???s Handbook for Public Playground Safety gives landscape architects a guide with a recommended ?EUR??,,????'??use zone?EUR??,,????'?? that should be clear of any potential obstacles. For instance, the use zone for stationary equipment (excluding slides) should extend a minimum of six feet in all directions from the perimeter of the equipment.

?EUR??,,????'??Concrete edging should be at least beyond the use zone,?EUR??,,????'?? said Donna Thompson, director of the National Program for Playground Safety. ?EUR??,,????'??It should be further than that if things are extended out, but it should be at least that far.?EUR??,,????'??

Jonathan Dreyfuss, C.P.S.I., of Fundamental Playscapes in Ann Arbor, Mich., tries to steer clear of using concrete edging when he designs a play area.

?EUR??,,????'??I don?EUR??,,????'???t see the benefit of it except from an adult aesthetic,?EUR??,,????'?? he said. ?EUR??,,????'??In terms of the play value and whether or not there is a long-term maintenance issue, that can be accomplished by any number of materials. But concrete edging allows for curvilinear borders that some materials don?EUR??,,????'???t. That?EUR??,,????'???s the real benefit of it.?EUR??,,????'??

The Options

There are alternatives to hard edging around playgrounds that are making their way into playgrounds across the nation. GameTime,?EUR??,,????<

?EUR??,,????'??This product marks the playground area as a special place for kids,?EUR??,,????'?? she said. ?EUR??,,????'??It also conforms to any use zone.?EUR??,,????'??

The curbs provide a practical solution for maintenance by keeping the surfacing inside the play area. Unlike wood beams or landscape timbers, these do not attract insects.

?EUR??,,????'??These are more kid-friendly than rocks or concrete,?EUR??,,????'?? Spencer said. ?EUR??,,????'??The brightly colored curbs serve as a welcoming beacon, beckoning the children to an area designated just for them.?EUR??,,????'??

The curbs also work to dissuade pass-through, keeping the fast pace traffic patterns of cyclists and joggers to the outside of the playground area.

Another option is the Border Timber system from Playworld Systems??????oe. This product keeps loose fill materials like sand and wood chips inside the play area, which in turn helps to minimize the replenishment cost.

The system interlocks to provide an attractive, environmentally friendly playground surround. Because they are made of virtually maintenance-free rotomolded, recycled black plastic with rounded edges, they will not pinch fingers, splinter or crack like conventional wood.

The timbers were installed in several playgrounds in Gaston County, North Carolina. Cathy Hart, parks and recreation assistant director, said the plastic timbers meet the needs of the parks system more so than the wood timbers.

?EUR??,,????'??We have 18 parks,?EUR??,,????'?? Hart explained. ?EUR??,,????'??Three of them have Border Timbers. I like them even though they are more money up front, but it will pay off in the long run. They cut down on maintenance costs, which is the biggest reason we got them.?EUR??,,????'??

All 18 playgrounds in the Gaston park system use wood chips as the safety surfacing under the equipment. Hart said the timbers help keep the wood chips inside the play area, and can be easily moved if needed and they enhance safety.

?EUR??,,????'??We can move them if needed and they are durable and the kids don?EUR??,,????'???t get any splinters,?EUR??,,????'?? she said. ?EUR??,,????'??This system is much better than the wood timbers, and we would never use concrete as a border around the playgrounds.?EUR??,,????'??

More From the Zone

Here are some CPSC guidelines for the use zone in regards to various play equipment that may be helpful whether you use concrete or softer edging on your next project.

The use zone in front of the access and to the sides of the slide should extend a minimum of six feet from the perimeter of the equipment. However, this does not apply to embankment slides, but the following recommendation applies to all slides, including embankment slides.

The use zone in front of the exit of a slide should extend a minimum distance of H plus four feet, where H is the vertical distance from the protective surface at the exit to the highest point of the chute. No matter what the value of H is, the use zone should never be less than six feet, but does not need to be greater than 14 feet. The use zone should be measured from a point on the slide chute where the slope is less than five degrees from the horizontal. If it cannot be determined where the slope is less than five degrees from the horizontal, the use zone should be measured from the end of the chute.

The use zone in front of the exit of a slide should never overlap the use zone of any other equipment.

Because children may deliberately attempt to exit from a single-axis swing while it is in motion, the use zone in front of and behind the swing should be greater than to the sides of such a swing. It is recommended that the use zone extend to the front and rear of a single-axis swing a minimum distance of twice the height of the pivot point above the surfacing material measured from a point pivot directly on the supporting structure. The use zone to the sides of a single-axis swing should follow the general recommendation and extend a minimum of six feet from the perimeter of the swing structure in accordance with the general recommendation for use zones.

For multi-access swings, the use zone should extend in any direction from a point directly beneath the pivot point for a minimum distance of six feet, plus the length of the suspending members. In addition, this use zone should extend a minimum of six feet from the perimeter of the supporting structure.

In playgrounds where occasional overcrowding is likely, a supplemental circulation area beyond the use zone is recommended. Whether or not to provide such a supplemental circulation area should be based on the professional judgment of the playground designer or owner.

The important thing to remember about playground edging or curbing is that, no matter what the material used, it needs to be highly visible to the children using the facility. This will not only alert kids and their parents to possible hazards, but it also divides the area outside the play area and the play area itself. The CPSC has no standards on the height for edging, so it is important for all playground designers to evaluate prospective sites for how they can be used and how they can be kept safe.