Playground Layout

Playground Layout

There are several key factors to keep in mind when laying out a playground. Proper planning and consideration to these facets of the layout will help to create a safer environment the children at play.

Accessibility

Special consideration should be given to providing accessible surfaces in a play area that meets the ASTM Standard Specification for Determination of Accessibility of Surface Systems Under and Around Playground Equipment, ASTM F1951.Equipment selection and location along with the type of protective surfacing are key components to ensuring the opportunity for children with disabilities to play on the playground.

Age Group

In areas where access to the playground is unlimited or enforced only by signage, the playground designer should recognize that since child development is fluid, parents and caregivers may select a playground slightly above or slightly below their child's abilities, especially for children at or near a cut-off age (e.g., 2-years old and 5-years old). This could be for ease of supervising multiple children, misperceptions about the hazards a playground may pose to children of a different age, advanced development of a child, or other reasons. For this reason, there is an overlap at age 5. Developmentally a similar overlap also exists around age 2; however, due to the differences in ASTM standards and entrapment testing tools, this overlap is not reflected in the Handbook for Public Playground Safety (CPSC Publication 325). Playgrounds used primarily by children under the supervision of paid, trained professionals (e.g., child-care centers and schools) may wish to consider separating playgrounds by the facility's age groupings. For example, a child-care facility may wish to limit a playground to toddlers under 2 exclusively and can draw information from this guide and ASTM F2373. A school, on the other hand, may have no children under 4 attending, and can likewise plan appropriately. Those who inspect playgrounds should use the intended age group of the playground.

 

Age separation

For playgrounds intended to serve children of all ages, the layout of pathways and the landscaping of the playground should show the distinct areas for the different age groups. The areas should be separated at least by a buffer zone, which could be an area with shrubs or benches. This separation and buffer zone will reduce the chance of injury from older, more active children running through areas filled with younger children with generally slower movement and reaction times.

 

Conflicting activities

The play area should be organized into different sections to prevent injuries caused by conflicting activities and children running between activities. Active, physical activities should be separate from more passive or quiet activities. Areas for playground equipment, open fields, and sand boxes should be located in different sections of the playground. In addition, popular, heavy-use pieces of equipment or activities should be dispersed to avoid crowding in any one area. Different types of equipment have different use zones that must be maintained. The following are general recommendations for locating equipment within the playground site. Specific use zones for equipment are given in Section 5.3.

*Moving equipment, such as swings and merry-go-rounds, should be located toward a corner,    side, or edge of the play area while ensuring that the appropriate use zones  around the equipment are maintained.

*Slide exits should be located in an uncongested area of the playground.

*Composite play structures have become increasingly popular on public playgrounds. Adjacent   components on composite structures should be complementary. For example, an access component should not be located in a slide exit zone.

Sight lines

Playgrounds that are designed, installed, and maintained in accordance with safety guidelines and standards can

still present hazards to children. Playgrounds should be laid out to allow parents or caregivers to keep track of children as they move throughout the playground environment. Visual barriers should be minimized as much as possible. For example, in a park situation, playground equipment should be as visible as possible from park benches. In playgrounds with areas for different ages, the older children’s area should be visible from the younger children’s area to ensure that caregivers of multiple children can see older children while they are engaged in interactive play with younger ones.

Source: 2.2 Playground Layout
Public Playground Safety Handbook - CPSC Publication 325
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission