Dallas' hot new playground

[SuZ23]

I’m working on a possible blog item/column for the Dallas Morning News in regards to a playground the city built downtown.  To get the full info read the links below, but in a nutshell the city hired a designer from New York to develop a “tot lot”.  What they came up with was made entirely of polished stainless steel (true to Dallas’ worship of form before function).  Too much concern with an aesthetically pleasing park has rendered it unusable because temperatures on the play structures reach up to 130 degrees during a typical summer day in Texas. 

The city wants to erect a $30,000 shade structure over the playground.  I feel they should scrap the whole thing and start over with new, kid-friendly equipment.  What I am asking for here are suggestions that I can include in my article:  What features are in the playgrounds in your area (or have been in the past) that would be heat-resistant?  

A few examples: 

Equipment made out of plastic, composite materials, wood, etc.

Swings

Trees

Sand box

Water feature

Tetherball

Playhouses

Simple shade structure

 

Article #1 (May 30^th)

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/downtowndallas/stories/DN-totlot_30met.ART.Central.Edition1.2a06a00.html

 

Article #2 (July 24^th)

 

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/downtowndallas/stories/072410dnmethottotlot.3c6fd05.html

 

 Thank you very much for your input!

[LEBulldog]

Aug. 3, 2010 at 6:02 PM

I think they should scrap it, too. Maybe build a splash park? Clearily, they did not have children in mind when they build this thing!  I think they should investigate a more heat-resistant type of plastic or other playground equipment. Maybe a wood structure with some shade?