PUT OUR CHILDREN'S SAFETY FIRST!
by Sheila Glanville-Conlee
c. 2011
by Sheila Glanville-Conlee
c. 2011
The week of April 25th is National Playground Safety week, which is sponsored by the National Program for Playground Safety. The first paragraph on their website states “Playgrounds don’t become safer by themselves. They need people like you to stick their necks out and do something”. I am one of those people willing to stick their neck out to do something to bring attention to the unsafe playgrounds that exist in our beautiful city.
Here is a link to NPPS' article regarding Playground Safety Week
http://www.playgroundsafety.org/safetyweek/
Playgrounds provide fun and exercise for children of all ages, however in 2010 alone, over 200,000 children in the U.S. were injured using them. I applaud our City Parks Department for providing playgrounds to our children throughout the city, however the City seems to be choosing locations for newer playgrounds with only 2 objectives in mind; convenience for parents so they don’t have to walk to get to it, and avoidance of graffiti, completely ignoring the issue of safety for child pedestrians by placing playgrounds as close as 10 feet from streets, and many are not fenced.
Here is a link to NPPS' article regarding Playground Safety Week
http://www.playgroundsafety.org/safetyweek/
Playgrounds provide fun and exercise for children of all ages, however in 2010 alone, over 200,000 children in the U.S. were injured using them. I applaud our City Parks Department for providing playgrounds to our children throughout the city, however the City seems to be choosing locations for newer playgrounds with only 2 objectives in mind; convenience for parents so they don’t have to walk to get to it, and avoidance of graffiti, completely ignoring the issue of safety for child pedestrians by placing playgrounds as close as 10 feet from streets, and many are not fenced.
The standards in place set by the American Society for Testing and Materials, the Federal Playground Safety Handbook http://www.scribd.com/doc/13733395/Public-Playground-Safety, the National Recreation and Parks Association, and many others specifically state that a playground should not be located near streets with traffic. The ASTM standard F2049 8.3 clearly states that any playground located within 200 feet of a street must be fenced to keep children in and vehicles out. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claims that 30% of all traffic deaths for children under the age of 15 are pedestrians. Many of our city’s playgrounds are located very close to streets and are not fenced therefore are not safe for child pedestrians.
This is a photo of the playground near the intersection of Beulah and Veta.
Our City Planners are presently working on the site plan for yet one more playground that will be located at a dangerous location for children in University Park, near a busy intersection on a sharp, blind curve where a child has already been hit by a car. The present location has a 30 year record of safety where a child has never been hit by a car or targeted by a criminal. This issue was brought to my attention recently after it was announced that a playground was going to be moved directly across the street from my home. My initial thoughts when I heard about the new location I admit were selfish, worrying about my peaceful enjoyment of my property and property values. However, once I opened my eyes seeing the location for what it is, and after hearing testimony at the Zoning Commission hearing that a child has already been hit by a car at the new location’s site, I simply cannot let the issue of our unsafe playgrounds rest.
Before the Zoning Commission hearing, I decided along with my neighbors to hire one of the top three playground safety experts in the country, Thom Thompson to do a site evaluation. He clearly stated and informed our City manager and Parks Director that the new location is NOT SAFE. After working with him, after a lengthy conversation with Bill Beckner, the head of research at the National Recreation and Parks Association, and after doing hours of research on my own, I have a good understanding about safe locations for playgrounds. After viewing most of the playgrounds in the city including many newer ones, I have seen that our city is falling down on the job as many are in unsafe locations that fly in the face of safety regulations.
Clear examples of this are the three playgrounds that are very close to busy Abriendo Avenue, and one near the intersection of Beulah and Veta, which is also a blind curve. All of them and others around the city are much closer to streets than the ASTM standard of 200 feet from roadways, and most are not fenced.
The Safety Report from Thom Thompson and ASTM guidelines evidence regarding the University Park playground were presented to Creighton Wright, Parks Department director who is a Certified Playground Safety Expert, Jerry Pacheco, the City manager, The Zoning Department, the Zoning Commission, the City Council members, and to Tom Florczak, the city attorney who all ignored it and approved the new location anyway.
This is a photo of the new location which clearly shows it is a sharp curve where not only could a child be hit by a car but a car could easily drive into it;
Our City Planners are presently working on the site plan for yet one more playground that will be located at a dangerous location for children in University Park, near a busy intersection on a sharp, blind curve where a child has already been hit by a car. The present location has a 30 year record of safety where a child has never been hit by a car or targeted by a criminal. This issue was brought to my attention recently after it was announced that a playground was going to be moved directly across the street from my home. My initial thoughts when I heard about the new location I admit were selfish, worrying about my peaceful enjoyment of my property and property values. However, once I opened my eyes seeing the location for what it is, and after hearing testimony at the Zoning Commission hearing that a child has already been hit by a car at the new location’s site, I simply cannot let the issue of our unsafe playgrounds rest.
Before the Zoning Commission hearing, I decided along with my neighbors to hire one of the top three playground safety experts in the country, Thom Thompson to do a site evaluation. He clearly stated and informed our City manager and Parks Director that the new location is NOT SAFE. After working with him, after a lengthy conversation with Bill Beckner, the head of research at the National Recreation and Parks Association, and after doing hours of research on my own, I have a good understanding about safe locations for playgrounds. After viewing most of the playgrounds in the city including many newer ones, I have seen that our city is falling down on the job as many are in unsafe locations that fly in the face of safety regulations.
Clear examples of this are the three playgrounds that are very close to busy Abriendo Avenue, and one near the intersection of Beulah and Veta, which is also a blind curve. All of them and others around the city are much closer to streets than the ASTM standard of 200 feet from roadways, and most are not fenced.
The Safety Report from Thom Thompson and ASTM guidelines evidence regarding the University Park playground were presented to Creighton Wright, Parks Department director who is a Certified Playground Safety Expert, Jerry Pacheco, the City manager, The Zoning Department, the Zoning Commission, the City Council members, and to Tom Florczak, the city attorney who all ignored it and approved the new location anyway.
This is a photo of the new location which clearly shows it is a sharp curve where not only could a child be hit by a car but a car could easily drive into it;
 |
| One of Pueblo's newest playgrounds located only a few feet from traffic. |
It is easily proven that many children are hit by vehicles and injured or killed while darting away from playgrounds located near streets by simply doing a Google search. I did this search and provided this evidence not only to my neighbors but to all City Officials involved. This evidence was called “propaganda” at the Zoning Commission hearing. Many of the Zoning Commission members shook their heads in disgust at me for providing this factual information to my neighbors. In fact, I feared I may actually be arrested that night when I was questioned by Rod Johnson about sending out this factual "propaganda", which were articles you can see here;
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-09-17/news/1992261166_1_tim-hulett-playground-county-traffic
http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/childs-death-prompts-safety-review-at-park/1d05hj815?q=child%20hit%20by%20car%20near%20playground&FORM=VIRE7
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2011/04/six-year-old_bo.html
http://www.wsbtv.com/2investigates/25402076/detail.html
Pepper Whittlef, the traffic engineer for the city, testified at the hearing that “ONLY 4 child pedestrians in Pueblo have been struck by cars near playgrounds on streets similar to and INCLUDING the Ironweed and Cedarweed location”. She was not clear whether or not there have been other child pedestrian accidents at even BUSIER locations. Rod Johnson would not allow me to ask this or any other questions of Ms. Whittlef at the hearing. I would have also asked if she thought that four child pedestrian accidents were four too many near playgrounds, and if not how many would be too many; 8, 10, 20? These are children’s lives we are talking about, not just numbers. Numerous calls to Ms. Whittlef have not been returned. As a mother and someone who has personally witnessed 4 child pedestrian deaths in my lifetime, to not have the courage to speak up regarding this issue and bring it to the attention of the community would be a failing on my part, even though it has brought tremendous stress to my life.
My question also is, when we have 2 Certified Playground Safety Experts working for the City of Pueblo, why does it take a private citizen such as myself to bring this to the attention of our city officials and why do they all continue ignoring it? It is time to protect the children of our community by placing future playgrounds at safe locations at least 200 feet from roadways in accordance with ASTM standards, and fencing the ones that are currently in dangerous locations closer than this around the City.
Perhaps they are a little more concerned about our City's flower beds as this recent Pueblo Chieftain article shows
http://www.chieftain.com/news/local/change-to-color/article_1bae3c1e-6260-11e0-ac00-001cc4c002e0.html
I do love the way our City cares for it's flower beds, however, four children being struck by cars ARE four too many, and I suggest that the Parks Department should also be focused on the safety of our children's playgrounds. You can paint over graffiti, but you cannot bring a child back to life or reverse injuries once they are hit by a car. It is time for our city to put the safety of our children first by following the ASTM and Federal guidelines regarding playground location and fencing.
Children are injured in other ways at playgrounds, therefore I have developed this website where you can report any playground safety issues you might have near your home.
Children are injured in other ways at playgrounds, therefore I have developed this website where you can report any playground safety issues you might have near your home.
Let’s work together to improve the safety of our children’s playgrounds. Please contact the Parks Department with anything you may see that could be hazardous at our City's playgrounds. This is a link to their contact page
http://www.pueblo.us/cgi-bin/gt/tpl_page.html,template=14&content=1679&nav1=1
and I will request our City Council, and other City Officials to keep an eye on this website to be alerted to issues that may exist. A fun playground is a SAFE playground.
PLEASE add any information you may have regarding any other safety issues at playgrounds in Pueblo that you are familiar with by adding yourself as a watcher and commenting below. I may be reached at pueblospeaksout@gmail.com.
http://www.pueblo.us/cgi-bin/gt/tpl_page.html,template=14&content=1679&nav1=1
and I will request our City Council, and other City Officials to keep an eye on this website to be alerted to issues that may exist. A fun playground is a SAFE playground.
PLEASE add any information you may have regarding any other safety issues at playgrounds in Pueblo that you are familiar with by adding yourself as a watcher and commenting below. I may be reached at pueblospeaksout@gmail.com.
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