One of my previous articles was about what was needed for an inclusive playground and in terms of our safety surfacing, accessibility is the most important functionality to achieve inclusivity. Any user must be able to move and approach the different equipment and areas. The article was referring to indoor or outdoor dry playgrounds but it also applies to water and splash parks, so let’s remind the requirements.
As a summary to achieve good accessibility we need:
- Choose appropriate materials and techniques that meets the relevant standards and regulations about accessibility and at the same time reduce the risk of severe injuries from falls.
- Have routes that are wide enough to allow wheelchair users and parents with strollers to move.
- Ensure flush transition from surrounding areas to the play area and from one type of surfacing to another for people using mobility aids.
I also wrote an article a while ago about how playground safety was when I was a child compared to today safety requirements. For decades playgrounds had no safety surfacing and as a result kids were injured quite often. The introduction of cushioned surfaces reduced liability and limited the serious injuries while promoting play and learning to fall without serious consequences.
Some people think that nowadays maybe we are overprotecting our children and I can only disagree. At the indoor and outdoor dry playgrounds we have already reasonable levels of safety in place but if you look at some waterparks or splash parks today, situation is not as good. A lot of them are still using just concrete maybe coated at best with some colour but still very abrasive, hard to fall and slippery.
The recently approved standard EN 17232:2020 with title ” Water play equipment and features – Safety requirements, test methods and operational requirements“, when implemented by owners of these water play areas will help to resolve these deficiencies.
This standard set requirements for shock absorbing floors similar to those of dry playgrounds when this absorption cannot be achieved by the water depth. It also sets slip resistance requirements according to EN 13451-1 and other requirements to avoid puddles, to make it easy to clean, to avoid impairing the water quality and to do not promote the growth of microorganisms.
At CONICA we introduced at the beginning of 2020 two new waterpark safety surfacing systems and materials for both permeable and impermeable water applications that fully address all the requirements of EN17232:2020, including two top coats variants with additives to prevent growth of microorganisms. Contact your regional sales manager if you want to use these systems or to know more about them.
Take care
Rubberman Blog 