Playground Installs Shade Tent: Should More Parks Follow?

by SodaHead Living Posted 2011/07/06 20:51:06

Related Topics: Shade, Tents, Union Square, Money, Kids, Park, Parks, Equipment, Hot, Heat, Summer, Health, School, SodaHead, Brooklyn

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	Yes	79 votes	65%
	No	43 votes	35%

Man, where was all this when we were growing up?

USA Today reports that two New York City playgrounds, one in Union Square and one in Brooklyn Bridge Park, have installed giant shade tents over their equipment in order to, well, provide shade, and to keep the equipment from burning kids' hands.

"You go to a playground where there is no shade, and you just can't be out there on a hot day," says Sid Espinosa, director of citizenship at Microsoft and mayor of Palo Alto. "It's not good for your health."

But there's a fairly obvious catch: They're not free.

When a California mother raised money to install a similar tent at her children's school in Burbank, it ended up costing around $25,000.

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Sister Jean 2011/07/06 20:56:08

No

+12
what happened to
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More polls by SodaHead Living

billycat98 2011/10/29 17:57:40

No

its the parks decision

reply
Assault 2011/07/08 00:39:13

No

+1
Hell no, bring me some trees, not to mention they are a hell of a lot cheaper.

reply
T. Roll 2011/07/07 19:16:35

No

+3
Let'em get third degree A$$ Burns like the rest of us.....remember these in July?
Hahahahahaha.....Owwwwwww...w...

reply
Lanikai to T. Roll 2011/07/08 12:14:29

yep, my dad always poured cornstarch on them, so they were slippery and you didn't stick and get burnt.

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Jareth Majere 2011/07/07 18:48:04

No

we had permanent pavilions in our parks

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Lanikai 2011/07/07 18:46:10

No

+1
Not at taxpayer expense. This is sort of stupid, what about fresh air and sunshine being good for kids. Bunch of nanny state morons.

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mae 2011/07/07 18:30:24

Yes

+1
Yes, for sun, rain, snow--Kids love recess outdoors, this is a great way to provide it. Growing up in the Northwest, we spent many, many recesses cooped up in the gym or cafeteria watching movies, or in our classroom playing whatever word or number game the teacher could think of. These shades weren't around yet, but I see them more and more, allowing kids some fresh air and a dry safe area in which to get rid of that extra energy.

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billycat98 to mae 2011/10/29 17:58:18

+1
its the parks decision

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Rick Armin 2011/07/07 17:44:42 (edited)

No

+3
That just doesn't go far enough. They should build domes that can be opened and closed like sports stadiums. All ballfields, basketball and tennis courts, and other play areas should be carpeted with 3 to 6 inches of foam so kids (and adults) won't get hurt. We could make this a massive federal project to spend trillions of dollars and create millions of "jobs" that contribute nothing to the wealth of the nation. It could also provide more jobs for lawyers when the little Johnnies and Suzies get sunburned because the roof was left open. Should be worth a couple of cool millions each incident once the taxpayer has accepted responsibility through such projects.

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angelldragon 2011/07/07 17:36:59 (edited)

Yes

+1
This is something the state of Arizonia should look into. Kids out here can't play in the play grounds after 9am in the summer. Hell right now it is 10:30am and its already 103 in the sun. With the small kids they are plum out of luck.
Every state should start picking up this idea.
They could try planting more trees to shade the paths and picnic areas. Hope they start careing for the children of the future or there won't be any.............

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Lanikai to angelld... 2011/07/07 18:47:33

It is the parents job to protect them and NOT at the expense of all taxpayers.

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billycat98 to angelld... 2011/11/01 22:59:12

its the parks choice

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Death Faerie 2011/07/07 17:27:52

Yes

+1
Not only will it prevent children from being burned it will protect them from the sun.

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Sabba 2011/07/07 16:07:33

Yes

+2
IN ARIZONA, HELL YES!

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HelmetGirl 2011/07/07 15:55:53

No

+1
I think we live in a world of "overkill"....we try to cover all bases and that's simply not possible. When I was growing up, some playgrounds had natural cover (trees) and some did not (like our school playground). When we kids got too hot, we went and sat on the grass under a tree or on a bench in the pavilion to cool off OR we got a drink of water from the fountain and so on and so forth...We all need some sun for Vitamin D if nothing else. Keep in mind that kids who have real health issues are not included here. Otherwise, enough already.

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Vezman 2011/07/07 15:51:49

No

+1
Stupid question. This person must not know how much or who pays for things like this i.e. schools, Cities, and States.....none of them are growing money on trees. This is like saying that Jayzee got new Bentley: should more people get Bentleys?

I'd be happy if it was all working and safe.

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Lanikai to Vezman 2011/07/07 18:55:07

+1
Oh, I am sure they know they can make it an issue and force the rest of us to pay for it.

We have a public/private partnership park in our town, built for "special needs" kids. It is the grandest, nicest, most fabulous park in town and parents bitch constantly about regular kids playing there. '
So now, the parents are demanding the park be limited to ONLY special needs kids, and the regular kids parents are pushing for a park like that for regular kids. the demands on public funds never end, so they take more.

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Vezman to Lanikai 2011/07/07 19:54:24

+1
That's kind of counter-inclusive isn't it.

I don't understand why parents just can't be smart, and play in the morning, evening, or on a cloudy day. lol

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Lanikai to Vezman 2011/07/08 12:13:08

+1
Yes it is counter inclusive. But three of the well placed lawyers in town and one city leader have handicapped kids so they get their way. Sadly, those same people took all of the equipment off the one really good public park because the neighbors in that neighborhood complained about all the "non neighborhood" people leaving trash at "their" park.

No word on whether there will be a public land-private equipment purchase park for regular kids. Probably would help if the inner city daycares didn't just pull up their buses and unload a bunch of kids then take off without leaving an adult to supervise.

See this park this is what miracle Field looks like, what kid wouldn't want to play there:

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Lanikai to Lanikai 2011/07/08 12:13:51

But that is only for special needs kids UNLESS a parent is RIGHT there with the ":regular kid, until they can figure out how to ban regular kids.

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Vezman to Lanikai 2011/07/08 13:26:45

Hell I'd want to play there.

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♥Gabs1697♥ 2011/07/07 15:33:02

Yes

+1
I sweat alot during my P.E class! SOoo definately!!!

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PostmasterOfDystopia 2011/07/07 15:31:52

Yes

+1
*I meant to vote no*
Playgrounds should not install 'shade tents'. It's a waste of money that should be going to repair aging school buildings and materials. Not temperature controlled swing sets.
Kids have been playing outside for years, if it's too hot then find something else to do.

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PapaBC 2011/07/07 15:14:10

Yes

+1
In hot areas shade is a good thing. Allows the kids to be outside when it is over 100 degrees and protected from the sun and sun burns.

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billycat98 to PapaBC 2011/10/29 17:59:18

its not the goverments buinsness

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lolo 2011/07/07 14:54:57

Yes

+1
Where I live it's a must.

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kermit the cupcake 2011/07/07 13:56:43

Yes

+3
A five year old died in toledo because of heat. His heart had a disorder, and it got too hot, and he collapsed. he soon died after.

im thinking shaded parks.

also, parents dont have to get too hot, and kids can play longer, while the parents are kept cool.

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billycat98 to kermit ... 2011/11/01 23:00:25

its the parks decision

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Stuart 2011/07/07 12:53:29

No

+4
They should just build all the playgrounds indoors. Then we wouldn't have to worry about the mean old sun or bugs and the tetanus endospores lurking in the sand.

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gouki 2011/07/07 12:49:07

Yes

yes but the kids will destroy it.

just like when they put crayons on the radiator or turn the water fountain
so it spills on someone

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Lanikai to gouki 2011/07/07 18:57:03

Exactly, ALL of the parks here in "public housing" have the equipment vandalized and stolen, the basketball hoops stolen every single time the city puts more in. Then they go vandalize the other parks, so NO because they will steal the shades.

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hmgmcrmy 2011/07/07 11:56:07

No

+1
I'm indifferent on this. The shade is a good idea, and it could help! But like other people have mentioned, what if it gets covered in moss, or someone tears it up? Those are expensive to put up. So it's kind of good, kind of meh.

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the fuze 2011/07/07 11:01:11

Yes

But I think it could be more of a mesh shade than the solid one pictured here. I just had my niece and nephew to the park around the noon hour a couple of days ago, and ALL of the equipment was so hot, they couldn't do anything, so we had to leave.

And this park is surrounded by some pretty substantial shade trees.

We have a pretty solid community where I live and I think we could do this by having a fundraiser of some type.

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Tom 2011/07/07 10:00:46

Yes

+3
I would prefer they consider shade trees first, but otherwise it might be worth looking into.

reply
Student 2011/07/07 09:40:56

No

The kids will tear them up & drunks will P under them.

reply
Julie 2011/07/07 08:05:35

Yes

I hate the unpredictable weather here so much that if I had it my way I'd put my entire city inside a dome.

reply
ontinashi 2011/07/07 07:20:23

No

+2
At first i thought it would be a good idea but then i thought about it in depth, someone would need to keep those things clean, fallen leaves and other depris mixed with water could make moss or other things start to grow on top of the tent which could end up not being so good for the kids. Well thats what i think anyways

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PilarHernandez 2011/07/07 06:51:35

Yes

+1
I wish these existed when I was little!

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Edgar Valentin 2011/07/07 05:28:46

No

+3
Hobos will prob take over the playgrounds if we add roofs.

reply
Karl 2011/07/07 05:25:59

No

+3
Normally I'm not a hippie, but plant a tree.

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