Why can't I play with park playground equipment? Oct 4, 19:18
"A feeling of excitement climbing while shaking my feet"
"A refreshing feeling that slides down at once"
"A horizontal bar practiced upside down until dark"
I think many people have played with playground equipment such as jungle gyms and slides in the park as a child. In fact, there are cases where the playground equipment is prohibited. Why. What is the safety of playground equipment? I started interviewing.
("Park playground equipment" coverage group)
40% of playground equipment is prohibited
From March to May, Okayama City banned approximately 700 playground equipment at the same time in 465 city parks managed by the city. Approximately 40% of all playground equipment in city parks.
The playground equipment such as jungle gym, slides, swings and seesaws are covered with yellow tape that is not allowed to enter and children cannot play. There were about 20 parks where all playground equipment in the park was banned.
Use of playground equipment that has been banned is considered `` unusable '' as it may lead to life-threatening accidents such as the child's head or body being pinched by standards set by industry groups during periodic inspections, or serious injury may remain. It was judged.
For example, if the gap between the steps of the staircase is 12.7 cm to 23 cm on the slide, it is dangerous for the child, and if the body enters the gap, the neck may be squeezed.
Okayama City said that the safety of park users was given the highest priority on the prohibition of the use of playground equipment, and said that "if you continue to use it as it is, a serious accident may occur."
“Son is disappointed” Citizens are surprised and discouraged
On the other hand, the confusion spread in Okayama City due to the delay in publicizing the ban on the use of citizens.
Parents using the park:
“My son is disappointed because the slides are no longer available in a nearby park.”
“I was surprised to find out that I could n’t use playground equipment and that it was written“ No access ”.
According to Okayama City, after the ban on use, inquiries from users continued until around May. Some say, “Isn't it a mischief when a yellow tape with no entry is wrapped around the playground equipment?”
200 million yen to 300 million yen for removal and repair
For this reason, Okayama City decided to publish the playground equipment banned on the homepage and its repair status, and sent an apology document to the about 1500 neighborhood associations in the city for delays in communication.
Okayama City will complete the removal and repair of playground equipment that was banned during the current fiscal year from about 200 million yen to 300 million yen, and will distribute leaflets calling for appropriate use of playground equipment to elementary schools and kindergartens in the future. That means that
Saitama City also announced a policy to stop using it in June, saying that there is a risk of serious accidents with about 770 playground equipment, or about 20% of the playground equipment in the city park.
“Playground equipment hunting” “Is it for children?”
Questions about the ban on the use of playground equipment in the park one after another have been murmured on the internet and concerns about the impact on children.
"Recently park playground equipment has been banned from being used across the board. Sashizume playground equipment hunting. Is this movement nationwide?"
“Recently, the playground equipment in the park has been banned. The safety standards have not been met. There are no complaints about it, but I think it will take measures to meet the safety standards as soon as possible. It ’s in front of you but it ’s hard to play. ”
"" Don't touch dangerous things "is considered to be the efficiency of the management side, and" Making it possible to deal with dangerous things "is required for those who grow up."
“I think what we should do to protect our children is not to keep them away, but to teach them.”
Regular inspection is mandatory
Is park playground equipment dangerous or safe? When I proceeded with the interview, I found that there was no clear national standard before.
The standard was established in 2002. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism presented guidelines for ensuring the safety of playground equipment in city parks in response to a series of accidents involving serious injury to children.
In recent years, the aging and safety issues of infrastructure such as bridges and roads created during the period of high growth have been highlighted, and since last year, local governments that manage parks have been required to check playground equipment once a year. It was.
Prohibition of use is determined by local government
“Standards for periodic inspection of park facilities” compiled by “Japan Park Facility Industry Association” (JPFA) made by playground equipment manufacturers, etc. is used as a reference for the standards used in this periodic inspection.
According to this, inspections are performed in two items, “standard judgment” to see the shape and structure of playground equipment and “deterioration judgment” to judge deterioration.
If it is diagnosed as “d”, which is the lowest evaluation of “degradation judgment”, it is diagnosed that use is prohibited as it may cause an accident with a high probability if it is used as it is.
If you are diagnosed as “hazard 3”, which is considered to be a danger of life or a serious disability at the lowest evaluation in the “criteria judgment”, it will be diagnosed as unusable. Sometimes it can be avoided.
The reason why Okayama City decided to ban the use of about 700 playground equipments in the spring of last year is that “deterioration judgment” was judged as “d” or “standard judgment” was judged as “hazard 3”.
However, the use of playground equipment after regular inspections is left to the park manager. For this reason, depending on the local government, there may be cases where playground equipment can be used as it is even if it is diagnosed as dangerous during regular inspections.
Yuji Tsunonami, Managing Director of the “Japan Park Facility Industry Association” said, “Even if it becomes unusable due to inspection, the cost of refurbishment may be an issue, and it may not be possible to refurbish it immediately. Depending on the park, there may be no other playground equipment, and it is often difficult to judge. "
We continue to report on “park playground equipment”. We are looking forward to providing information from everyone who has read "I was injured by a playground equipment" and "What is the safety of playground equipment?"
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