Continuing high standards... Dear LASN: Thank you! Fine articles, great source of information. R.J. Baker Bakerstown, Pa. Dear LASN: Thanks for LASN. Continuing high standards and helpful. William Ellicott Lake Zurich, Ill. More reaction about soft surfacing... Dear LASN: I read your editorial [LASN March, page 8] regarding the use of concrete or other hard surfaces around playgrounds. You may remember my response to your first comments regarding this issue from the first time you addressed this subject [January 2002]. Aside from responsible design, the most important aspect of playground safety is supervision of the children by their parent. The risk of injury is much greater when children are allowed to run around a playground, rough-house, use the equipment improperly, or use inappropriate equipment for their age. There is much to be said, and debated regarding the issue of playground safety, however, parental supervision is one of the most important components of safety, and this cannot be designed into a playground. Is it not ironic, that in the same issue that you are blasting park and recreation professionals, Landscape Architects, and manufacturers for not stepping up to the plate, that on the cover of the March issue the pictured playground has concrete borders and a concrete plaza surrounding it? What about the playground featured on page 44? Are the architect and the staff of the park and recreation agency criminals, who deserve to go to jail for this design? I think not. I am not saying that there is not a risk with hard edging or surfaces, or that concrete must be used in the design. If there is a sound alternative to this, then lets look at it. Concrete edging is more durable, is cost-effective, requires little or no maintenance, is more attractive, and more flexible to design into the site than treated timbers, or expensive plastic edging. Lets look at some of the alternatives. Treated timbers have arsenic in them, do not last as long as concrete and are more labor intensive to install, and maintain. Recycled plastic timbers are expensive, they warp over time and, again, are labor intensive to install and maintain. The plastic, segmented edging available from most playground manufacturers is very expensive, spikes used to hold it down heave during the winter, it is very maintenance intensive, most likely will not last the life of the playground, and presents a trip hazard when entering the playground, because it is set above grade. On behalf of the parks and recreation profession, I take insult to your blanket statement that we should be sued or jailed, do not care about children, or only think of money. My colleagues and I are not the only ones responsible for watching out for children, or at least we should not be. You are responsible for your own children, just like I am responsible for my own. It is my responsibility to design a playground that meets ADA standards, USCPSC standards, and ASTM and IPEMA certifications. My colleagues and I work hard to design play areas that are age appropriate, creative, inspire imaginative play, and are as safe as we can make them. I happen to think that we do a pretty good job of this, and that the playground industry has come a long, long way toward creating safe playgrounds and equipment. Until there is a viable alternative, I will not be designing dirt or wood chip paths into a playground. This certainly does not meet ADA standards. Our district certainly cannot afford to put down poured-in-place, rubber sidewalks. There is more to this issue than meets the eye. If the USCPSC or other playground safety authority determined that this is not an acceptable standard, I will be one of the first to comply. Paul Cathey Sent Via Email