7 Commitment to Ongoing Care and Maintenance Maintenance is one of the greatest factors aff ecƟ ng the accessibility of playground surfaces. The accessibility standards require ground surfaces to be inspected and maintained regularly and frequently to ensure conƟ nued compliance with ASTM F1951-99. Therefore playground owners should have a thorough understanding of the care and maintenance required for their selected surface systems. Some surface materials may only require seasonal maintenance, while others may require weekly or daily maintenance. The frequency of maintenance is dependent on the surface material and number of users. The NCA surface study showed there was a lack of installaƟ on/ maintenance informaƟ on provided by the manufacturer to the playground owner prior to purchase and there was a steep learning curve related to working with various surface systems. Each of the 16 parƟ cipaƟ ng municipaliƟ es had maintenance personnel trained through either the NaƟ onal RecreaƟ on and Park AssociaƟ on’s CerƟ fi ed Playground Safety Inspector program or the Illinois Park District Risk Management AssociaƟ on (PDRMA). The parƟ cipaƟ ng agencies recognized maintenance as a criƟ cal need in order to provide a safe environment for the public to recreate. All of the municipaliƟ es had “playground crews” responsible for visiƟ ng each playground site, making visual inspecƟ on of the area, collecƟ ng trash, and compleƟ ng repairs as needed. The playground crews ranged in number from 1-3 staff , usually with one full-Ɵ me employee and 2-3 seasonal staff during the summer months. At least 30 minutes was spent on site. However, the frequency of visits to each site varied among the diff erent agencies. Large playgrounds at regional parks and sites where programming occurred were most oŌ en visited. Some were visited daily during peak summer months. Smaller neighborhood parks may have been visited 1-3 Ɵ mes per week or two Ɵ mes per month. Surface defi ciencies were found to exist at each site regardless of the frequency of visits by the playground crew. Maintenance crews should receive training both on the accessibility standards and the care specifi c to the surface material. Over the course of the longitudinal study, the research team found that where the playground crews became more engaged in the study, the maintenance specifi c to accessibility began to improve. At least three EWF sites had improved accessibility where the surface material was observed as more level and beƩ er compacted than previous site visits. One site uƟ lizing PIP as the primary access route and EWF as the secondary access route was assessed with less than 1 percent slope at the transiƟ on between the two surface materials. This was observed as the most improved and maintained transiƟ on between surface materials of the sample. Over Ɵ me, the unitary surface may separate at the seams or from the border creaƟ ng gaps, openings or changes in level that will require repair. Loose fi ll materials, like EWF, may experience undulaƟ on of the surface material and or displacement under heavy use areas with moƟ on such as at swings, slides, sliding pools, climbers, spinners and teeter toƩ ers. This will require the surface material to be raked level, fi lled and compacted so that the clear ground space is level in all direcƟ ons for a safe transfer onto and off the equipment. 17
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