Need To Make Your Playground More Accessible?

Here are some ideas on how to make your playground more accessible in compliance with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) of 1990. This act requires that all play areas constructed or altered after January 26, 1991 include access for people with disabilities.

Provide access to half of the elevated activities on structures.
For small structures, this includes a transfer system or equivalent access. For structures with 10 or more elevated components, this includes wheelchair access to 1/4 of the related play components and transfer system or equivalent access to 1/4 of the related play components.

Provide access to ground-level play components.
You'll want to provide several accessible, ground-level play components equal to half the number of elevated play components in the play area. This simply means placing the play components along an accessible route or over accessible surfacing.

Make one of each type of ground-level activity accessible.
For each type of ground-level play experience offered in a playground (swinging, climbing, etc.), make sure at least one of each type is located along an accessible route or over accessible surfacing. For example, if you have swings in a playground, make sure at least one is located over accessible surfacing.

Provide an accessible route to the play structure.
Accessible routes within the safety surfacing area of the playground may be accomplished using a pathway of unitary material such as rubber tiles or by covering the entire use zone with an engineered wood fiber product that has been tested and maintained for accessibility according to the AS TM PS-83 standard.

Provide an accessible route to the playground.
Include an accessible path into the safety surfacing of the playground and connect this entrance to other accessible routes on the site such as building entrances, parking areas and sidewalks.

For more information on custom-designed play environments that provide total accessibility, call PlayDesigns at 1-800-327-7571. For more information on the Americans with Disabilities Act, call the Office on the Americans with Disabilities Act, Civil Rights Division at (202) 514-0301.

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