The Austin Chronicle

https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/1996-07-26/532331/

Playscape Survey Redux

Park

July 26, 1996, News

Problems Noted in 1992

Updated Observation

Bartholomew District Park
1800 E. 51st St.
"Exposed concrete that should be underground, not enough sand, unclosed "S" hooks, slide lacks adequate railings, slide faces south instead of north."
The playground is currently being rebuilt from the ground up.
Brooke Playground
3100 E. Fourth St.
"Nails sticking out; bare bolts on the swing."
The playground is now within AISD jurisdiction and closed to the public.
Clarksville Park
1811 W. 11th St.
"Fireman's pole is shaky."
Pole is still shaky, nails are popping out, extruding bolts.
Comal Park
300 Comal St.
"Despite the fact that the slide is just a few feet away from an alley with motor vehicle traffic, there is no fence."
The problem has not been corrected.
Cook Playground
1511 Cripple Creek Drive
"Protruding bolts, broken wood."
Still has protruding bolts, even loose nuts. Still broken wood.
Cunningham Playground
2200 Berkeley Ave.
"Bare nails."
More bare nails - the solution here is to not use nails in the first place; over the years they pop out.
Hill Playground
8601 Tallwood Drive
"Protruding bolts."
There are still protruding bolts. Also, the fireman's pole is getting shaky, there are nails sticking out, and a big concrete block is located in a fall zone under a rope climb. Could use some gravel, too.
Mabel Davis District Park
3427 Parker Lane
"Our guess is that someone decided to leave a cluster of climbing rocks in their natural setting. The trouble is they are dangerous and kids could easily fall five to six feet off of them onto a hard hard surface."
Well, the rocks are still there - we didn't expect them to magically disappear. Designers could forego such natural "beauty" in favor of safety. Also, this time around we noticed that the cargo net, which is anchored by a pole running along the bottom, has not been properly installed. The pipe should be underground, beneath the surface of the gravel.
Metz Park and Rec Center
2407 Canterbury St.
"Shaky fireman's pole on playscape."
Playscape has been replaced; no fireman's pole any more.
Pillow Playground
3025 Crosscreek Drive
"Cargo net not properly installed."
The problem remains. See explanation of cargo net installation above under "Mabel Davis."
Rosewood Rec. Center
1182 N. Pleasant Valley Dr.
"Top platform of playscape is enclosed with dangerous cut chainlink fencing."
Chainlink fencing replaced; problem fixed.
Schroeter Park
11701 Big Trail
"Cargo net not properly installed."
The problem remains. See explanation of cargo net installation above under "Mabel Davis."
Shipe Park
4400 Avenue G
"Utility pole fencing obstructs visibility."
The poles are still there and the sand could use a good fluffing out.
West Austin Park
1317 W. 10th St.
"Playscape too high, sand not deep enough, protruding bolts, inadequate railing on slide."
Gravel has been added, but it's too high and there are no railings, nails are popping out, fireman's pole is loose, bolts all seem to have been cut off.
Wooten Park
1406 Dale Drive
"Cargo net not properly installed."
The problem remains. See explanation of cargo net installation above under "Mabel Davis."
Zilker Metropolitan Park
2100 Barton Springs Rd.
"Utility poles by wood bridge limit visibility; old spaceship playscape is dangerous."
Playscape has been completely rebuilt.

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