recreation

SOCIETY WATCH: Parks, Playgrounds, and Recreational Activities

Governor Signs Bill To Shield Cities From Liability
Associated Press, May 16, 2007

With a unanimous 38-0 vote, the Massachusetts Senate sent a bill to the House that would “protect[ ] volunteers at state parks from liability for ‘ordinary negligence,’ but hold[ ] them liable for ‘intentional, willful, wanton or reckless misconduct that results in injury or damage to another person.’”  Supporters of the legislation hope “that eliminating liability for ordinary negligence would encourage more volunteers at state parks and also reduce the cost of insurance for groups that generate volunteers at state parks.”  article »

Council to Youth: ‘Wipe Out’
Charlotte Perkins, Houston Daily Journal, May 3, 2007

“If you live in Perry (Georgia) and you’re thinking about buying your kid a skateboard,” writes Charlotte Perkins in the Houston Daily Journal, “think again.”  “The simple truth,” she explains, “is that beyond the home driveway there’s nowhere to ride those skateboards.  And that does seem to be the final answer, unless someone opens a privately owned skateboarding site.”  Attempts to create public skateboarding space in Perry have been thwarted by liability concerns.  (The latest attempt was halted by a parks and recreation commission memo that argued “that ‘the liability to the city outweighed any benefits of allowing skateboarders use of city parks.’”)  At a city council meeting on the topic, the idea of having parents sign liability waivers was proposed – but officials have their doubts.  Perry’s mayor, Jim Worrall, has since directed the city’s manager “to write to the Georgia Attorney General to ask for a ‘black and white’ written opinion on the issue of whether waivers would nor would not protect the city from lawsuits.”  article »

Back to the Playground
Drake Bennett, Boston Globe, April 15, 2007

Writing on the “renewed interest in how and where children play,” Boston Globe staff writer Drake Bennett relates that the recent “reexamination of playgrounds is triggered by the conviction that, in the United States in particular, playgrounds have become rather unfun – designed with only safety in mind, they’ve lost the capacity to excite or challenge children.”  Playground historian and Common Good “Value of Play” panelist Susan Solomon tells Bennett that “fear of personal injury lawsuits has shrunk the playground.”  “Slides and swings today are lower,” she argues, “and therefore slower, than before.  …  ‘The see-saw today … is pretty much a horizontal bar that hardly moves in either direction.  It just kind of jiggles a little bit.’”  Yet, increasingly, Bennett writes, play advocates are arguing for a better balance between “the need for free, even rambunctious, play” and safety concerns – and for an acknowledgment “that risk and imagination deserve a place in the playground.”  Mary Rivkin, a professor of education at the University of Maryland, states: “‘Children need vertiginous experiences ….  They need fast and slow and that high feeling you get when you run down a hill.  They need to have tippy things.’  …  If there’s no challenge, no pain of failure … there’s no learning – and less enjoyment.”  Roger A. Hart, director of the Children’s Environments Research Group and “Value of Play” panelist, adds that “one problem with trying to child-proof playgrounds is that children, trying to make the safer playground equipment interesting, come up with unforeseen and often more dangerous ways of using it.”  article »

A Classroom of Monkey Bars and Slides
Jane E. Brody, New York Times, April 3, 2007

Quoting former Common Good Executive Director Franklin H. Stone and several panelists from Common Good’s May 2005 “Value of Play” conference, New York Times columnist Jane E. Brody relates how “[p]lay has taken on new forms in these ‘modern’ times.”  She writes: “Adults hover over preschoolers, ‘helping’ them play nicely and preventing them from hurting themselves or others.  For first graders and beyond, if they have any free time at all, most playgrounds have become so safe as to be utterly boring.”  “‘For fear of lawsuits,’” argues Ms. Stone, “‘we’ve created a bubble-wrapped society ….  Fear of litigation has resulted in the ‘dumbing down’ of playgrounds and the closing of sledding hills and hiking trails.  We’ve made playgrounds immensely safe for 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds, but they’re boring for 8-, 9- and 10-year-olds, who are on the streets with their skateboards.’”  Brody relates how children – including her own – benefit from the risk presented by traditional play activities.  “‘Children need a chance to take acceptable risks, learn cause and effect, make choices and see consequences,’” she quotes “Value of Play” panelist Susan G. Solomon.  “‘If they don’t learn to take risks, we’ll lose a generation of entrepreneurs and scientists.’”  article »

Skate Parks Constrained By Unnecessary Regulation
Kory Prindle, North County Times (CA), March 8, 2007

Former San Diego skate park attendant Kory Prindle writes in the North County Times: “ID check, supervision, consent, annual fee, per use fee, helmet, elbow pads, kneepads.  A problem exists when facilities designed to promote action sports are more of a burden than a blessing.  This burden is the Southern California skate park standard.”  The burden is in place, he argues, because of liability concerns arising from “the misconception that injuries are more common in extreme sports.”  He relates that there are only 8.6 injuries per 1000 skateboard participants, an injury to participant ratio much lower than that of football or soccer.  He concludes his piece: “‘Use at own risk’ signs are adequate protection for the majority of states across the country.  They are seeing the bigger force that action sports have become and are accommodating.  Southern California, on the other hand, is dragging behind, still charging an arm and a leg (which you will have to pad at your expense).  Decreasing skate-park regulation would mean less skaters getting pushed out into the streets, where they face fines, disgruntled neighbors and traffic.  Instead, the California approach is the outlawing of skateboarding in cities and embracing shortcomings of its designated facilities.  If California aims to satisfy its citizens and relieve itself of the ‘nuisance’ they see extreme sports as, it is taking steps in an opposite direction.”  article »

Suit Filed Over Playground Injury
Jen Gibson, Times-Union (Northern Indiana), February 16, 2007

The Warsaw Community School Corporation (IN) is facing a lawsuit from a student and her parents after the student fell of a set of monkey bars in 1999, resulting in injuries to her face and mouth.  The complaint relates, in part, that “‘the surface under the monkey bars did not include any artificial or soft natural surface and therefore created a foreseeable risk of harm.’”  It continues: “‘Warsaw Community School Corp. owed a duty to the plaintiff to maintain a reasonably safe premise and to adequately supervise children on the playground of Atwood Elementary School.  That, by virtue of the lack of supervision and lack of adequate maintenance to the monkey bars and surrounding area, defendant breached its duty owed to plaintiff and that breach resulted in harm to plaintiff.’”  The monkey bars were removed after the plaintiff’s accident.  article »

Hike, Bike, Fall, Crash, File Suit -- Not
Jim Porter, Sierra Sun, January 26, 2007

Let's Hope Law Restores Sensibility to Public Lands Liability
McCook Daily Gazette, January 19, 2007

An editorial in the McCook Daily Gazette argues that LB566 – a bill introduced in Nebraska’s unicameral legislature – “has the potential to correct a court ruling that could have a devastating effect on the quality of life in small towns around the state.”  The court ruling in question is the Nebraska Supreme Court’s September 2006 ruling that the state’s Recreation Liability Act “didn’t protect cities and counties.”  “The effect (of the court’s decision),” the editorial continues, “was immediately felt by skateboarders and inline skaters, who found that many of the skateparks across the state were closed by cities afraid of liability.  The closings spread to sledding hills, and even hunting lands ….”  The proposed legislation would explicitly cover public entities under the Recreation Liability Act (as long as they were not “’willful or malicious’” in failing “to guard against or warn people about danger”).  The paper writes: “If something isn't done, life could be different in towns like McCook.  Unless communities want to pay a lot more in liability insurance, the public might not be able to enjoy outdoor activities in public parks.”  article »

Proposed Skate Park Raises Issues of Town's Liability
Brent Maze, Clanton Advertiser, January 16, 2007

Liability issues might put a proposed half-pipe skateboard park on hold in Thorsby, AL.  After approving a measure that would create the park, the Thorsby Town Council heard from the city’s liability insurance provider that, to be covered, the park’s “structure would have to be approved by a licensed architect” and “be enclosed by a fence, which can be locked when it is not in use” – and that the park itself must possesses a phone and “have a person who would work [there] at all times.”  The person who staffed the park, moreover, could not be a volunteer – but rather “ha[d] to be an employee of the town of Thorsby.”  The council tabled the matter until their next meeting, with one member relating: "‘I'd hope that we wouldn't have to completely scrap the idea … although that might we might [sic] be what we have to do."  article »

City Votes to Return Swings to 12 Parks
David Crowder, El Paso Times, January 4, 2007

“A piece of Americana immortalized by Norman Rockwell in his painting ‘Boy and Girl Swinging’ that has been missing in El Paso is coming back,” reports David Crowder of the El Paso Times.  “Nearly all swing sets were removed between 1998 to 2002” due, in large part, to “the inclination of people to file lawsuits,” according to Norman Merrifield, director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.  Yet people have demanded the return of swings, as Merrifield explains: “‘I have heard more about these swings since coming to El Paso than I have in 30 years of parks work ….  We have decided to make it a priority because so many people have requested swings.’”  As a result, on “Wednesday the El Paso City Council approved the first contract in a program that will reinstall swing sets in city parks.”  However, the new swings “will be very different from the old, 15-foot-tall American Playground swing sets.”  According to Merrifield, those swings “‘are no longer acceptable by the Consumer Products Safety Board,’” so the city will go “with shorter, safer swings with a special surfacing made of sand or a rubberized cushion’” instead.  Each set costs about $8,000 to purchase and install.  article »

Lawsuit Fears Close Two Omaha Sled Slopes
Karen Sloan, Omaha World-Herald, January 3, 2007

After evaluating the city’s “parks and recreation facilities for liability and safety problems,” Omaha, NE officials have instituted a ban on sledding in two of their parks, as well as a ban on ice skating and ice fishing in all of their parks.  The evaluation – and eventual ban – was sparked by the Nebraska Supreme Court’s September decision that “that the Recreational Liability Act does not protect public entities from liability for injuries that occur at public parks and other recreation facilities.”  Omaha City Attorney Paul Kratz states in a press release announcing the ban: “‘The Supreme Court’s ruling could essentially result in lawsuits that would cost the City of Omaha millions of dollars each year ….  While these precautions may be unpopular, they are necessary to protect the taxpayers of Omaha.’”  He also relates that city officials had considered banning sledding from all 50 sledding sites identified by their evaluation, but that they “decided that such a widespread ban would be difficult to enforce.”  Future reductions in recreational opportunities are still possible, however.  Omaha Parks Director Steve Scarpello tells the Omaha World-Herald that, after the court’s ruling, addressing winter activities took priority.  He adds: "‘There's still a possibility that the skate park could close.’”  article »

2006 Sports Year in Review
Max Foster, Payson Roundup, December 29, 2006

Due in part to their belief that “adults competing with minors in contact sports leave the individuals and the department open for liability,” the Payson (AZ) Parks and Recreation Board and department administrators have “ban[ned] high school players and those under 18” from participating in the department’s adult basketball league.  article » 

Cities Looking to Combat Vandalism at Skate Parks
Rick Brewer, Record (California), December 28, 2006

In an article on how San Joaquin (CA) County parks are combating the problem of “[s]pray-paint-wielding taggers … leaving their marks on municipal skate parks,” Rick Brewer of the Record relates that officials in the City of Lodi have taken “a more laissez-faire approach” to the matter.  He writes: “ Lodi's skate park is unsupervised because of insurance issues ….  Unsupervised skate parks reduce a city's liability if injuries occur.  Skateboarders and in-line skaters bear the burden for their own conduct in an unmonitored park.  The city would be more accountable if personnel supervised the skate park or monitored it on video.”  “‘I know it sounds kind of backwards,’” Brewer quotes Lodi Parks Superintendent Michael Reese.  Officials in the nearby cities of Manteca and Tracy have either installed or approved the installation of video technology to survey their skate parks.  article »

Officials Should Let the Sledding Issue Slide
Pia Hansen, Spokesman-Review (Spokane/Idaho), December 16, 2006

“The Spokane (WA) Park Board's decision to ban sledding and cross-country skiing from its golf courses has got to be one of the most harebrained decisions I've heard in a long time,” writes Pia Hansen of the Spokesman-Review.  It is a decision, she explains, that involves not only “a bunch of angry golfers out to protect their turf,” but “lawyers and liability, too” – and one that has sledding “on its way to becoming a subversive winter activity.”  Spokane Parks and Recreation Director Mike Stone relates: “‘We don't sanction or encourage sledding anywhere in our park system ….’”  Mike Jackson, Stone’s counterpart in Spokane Valley, tells Hansen that he is “‘aware’” that sledding exists in one particular Spokane Valley park, but, like Stone, it is not something the parks department “‘sanction[s] or encourage[s] in any way.’”  Hansen responds: “This is a sledding hill we are talking about, not a hot drug-dealing spot, but heaven forbid kids find out where it's at. They could have fun there, for free, outdoors and all.”

Harvard Study Finds Major Energy Gap Contributes to Obesity Among U.S. Teens
Harvard School of Public Health, December 4, 2006

"America's overweight teens consumed an average of 700 to 1,000 calories more than required each day over a 10-year period,” reports a press release on a new study by the Harvard School of Public Health.  “This ‘energy gap’ or the imbalance between the number of calories children consumed each day and the number they required to support normal growth, physical activity, and body function – resulted in an average of 58 extra pounds for overweight teens.”  The study was the first to look at the “energy gap” among children and youth and was published in the journal Pediatrics.  Y. Claire Wang, the researcher who led the study, says:  "‘Our research indicates that early prevention may be critical.’”  Thus, “strategies to prevent excess weight gain from occurring during childhood may be more effective than attempting to treat overweight teens.”  To close the “energy gap,” the study suggests “longer and more frequent physical education classes,” “[r]educing the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages,” “[c]onsuming less fast food,” and “[d]ecreasing time spent watching TV as a way to increase physical activity.”  press release »

Court Ruling Forces Limits on Sledding
Associated Press, December 1, 2006

The Nebraska Supreme Court’s 2006 ruling “that determined (that) government entities can be held liable under the Recreation Liability Act for any injuries or damages sustained in public recreation areas” was, the AP relates, the driving force behind Lincoln, NE, officials’ recent decision “to restrict sledding at two of its public recreation areas.”  “‘We've taken a critical eye on all of our outdoor recreation venues,’” the news service quotes Assistant Director of Lincoln Parks and Recreation Jerry Shorney.  While Lincoln’s remain open, the court’s ruling was also the deciding factor in many other Nebraska municipalities’ decisions to closedown their skate parks.

Neighborhood Parks Boost Girls' Physical Activity Levels
Anne Harding, Reuters Health, November 16, 2006

A report by the RAND Corporation recently found that “[y]oung girls who live within a half-mile of a park are more physically active than those with no parks near their homes.”  Moreover, the report concluded that girls are even “more vigorously active” when there are ”more amenities like tennis or basketball courts, playgrounds, and running tracks in these neighborhood parks.”  Dr. Deborah A. Cohen of the RAND Corporation, who helped lead the study, relates that “[t]here are two schools of thought on physical activity and environment.”  In short, “either … a person's surroundings have no effect on physical activity or … aspects of a person's environment – like living in a neighborhood with no sidewalks or where being outside isn't safe – play a role.”  “‘This study supports the idea that environment matters,’” she argues.  “‘If the environment didn't matter, we wouldn't see an association.’"  article »

Harried Parents Urged to Let Their Kids Just Play
Associated Press, October 9, 2006

Taking Serious Stance on Play
Deepa Ranganathan, Sacramento Bee, October 9, 2006

Writing on the same day as the release of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ report, “The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds,” the Sacramento Bee’s Deepa Ranganathan states that, “[t]hanks to a raft of litigation and the creation of new state laws and national guidelines,” “[t]oday's playgrounds bear little resemblance to the free-standing steel contraptions of decades past.”  Traditional playground equipment has been removed and “[i]n many cases … been replaced by – not much.”  (In 2004, only 13 percent of playgrounds had seesaws, down 7 percent from 2000, and only 7 percent had merry-go-rounds, down half from 2000.)  Ranganathan relates that, with their lower monkey bars, less steep slides, and similar risk-reducing changes, “some argue that [modern playgrounds are] not as much fun and give kids fewer chances to try hard things.”  She quotes Common Good Value of Play panelist Susan Solomon, who states: "‘We seem to be a society overly cautious to the point where kids are not allowed to take even controlled risks on the playground ….  I'm certainly not advocating that kids should get hurt ….  But they can't even scrape their knees anymore."  David Spease, a member of the executive board of the National Playground Safety Institute relates that school “administrators are so afraid of lawsuits that they simply eschew anything with moving parts.”  "‘They don't choose some of the more interesting things,’” he states, “‘because they're afraid they might have a problem.  So they tend to make the play equipment a little bland.’"  By attempting to reduce all playground risk – or, as Jane Steele, a parks and recreation administrator, describes it, by “‘taking all the fun out of playgrounds’” – one wonders whether the modern playground can provide all the benefits ascribed to play.  Steele states: "‘There is risk in play.  We learn eye-hand coordination.  We learn depth perception ….  When you take all that risk out, children aren't learning that very well.’” 

Measures to Stem Childhood Obesity Are Found Lacking
Besty McKay, Wall Street Journal, September 14, 2006

“The federal government, food industry and others have made too little progress in stemming a growing tide of childhood obesity, and more money, measures and leadership are needed, according to a new report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM),” writes Betsy McKay of The Wall Street Journal.  Obesity rates continue to rise, she relates, despite “a study the IOM released in 2004 concluding that a broad collaborative effort in which government, industry, schools, parents and others would each adopt measures would be needed to turn the tide of childhood obesity.”  Recommendations from the latest report include: “increased funding for prevention and control programs that have been proven effective,” “evaluations of implemented antiobesity programs to determine best practices,” and “more physical-activity programs in schools.”  article »  IOM report »

Some Playground Equipment Targeted by Child Safety Groups
Jay E. Noffsinger, Fox News, August 24, 2006

For an article on how safety concerns are changing the face of American playgrounds, Jay E. Noffsinger, a professor of pediatrics at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, relates his view that “more harm than good” may result from an overemphasis on playground safety.  He states: “‘The much bigger problem in this country is sedentarianism and not being active, and though I would be in favor of people looking at making playgrounds safer, there may be an overemphasis on that rather than the fact that we need to be having more of them and encouraging physical participation with kids in any activity we can get them into … .  We need to be encouraging physical activity in any form, rather than legislating rules about the safety thereof.’”  Tom Norquist, president of the International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association, agrees with Dr. Noffsinger.  He argues: “‘Playground safety is only one cog of the wheel when it comes to a good playground environment … .  Right now the focus is on safety, and it really needs to be the developmental value of play.  We need to get more playgrounds out there and more opportunities for kids to play, and have them meet industry compliance and safety guidelines, but not shun kids away from them because of the safety guidelines.’"  article »

School Playground to Be Built
Jacqueline Reis, Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA), August 23, 2006

Worcester's Telegram & Gazette reports: “Linda Marie Hultgren, co-chairman of the Vernon Hill School Parent-Teacher Organization, has a relatively modest idea that would set her school apart from the majority of the city’s elementaries: She’d like to build a playground.”  All of Worcester’s elementary schools, the paper continues, “have areas for kids to run around or play games during recess” – but “most of the 33 elementaries don’t have swings or a slide or a jungle gym or other permanent equipment.”  “‘We don’t do playgrounds,’” says school plant manager, Eugene Olearczyk.  The reason?  The paper cites three: Playground equipment’s need for maintenance, its attractiveness to vandals, and – not surprisingly – that it “can be a liability.”  article »

Slides Didn't Used to Be Child's Play
Ben Bromley, Baraboo News Republic (Sauk County, WI), August 2006

On a recent return visit to his elementary school, Ben Bromley of Wisconsin’s News Republic found that “much had changed” – particularly to the school’s playground.  He writes: “[T]he playground is not a school of hard knocks anymore.  They've installed rubber pads and wood chips beneath all the equipment.  Not that there's any real risk of danger anymore, anyway.  The highest slides and monkey bars are gone, no doubt a casualty of these litigious times when school districts spend more on liability insurance than pencils.”  While he “supposes” that changes to the playground are reflective of “progress,” Bromley “wonder[s] if kids are missing out on something by not coming up the hard way.”  “They’ll never know,” he relates as an example, “the skill required to zip down a metal slide in late August without searing one’s flesh.”

Skateboard Park Waiver Wipes Out in Top Court
Robert Schwaneberg, Star-Ledger (New Jersey), July 18, 2006

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently held that “commercial recreational facilities” cannot be shielded from liability “for their own carelessness” by getting patrons to sign a liability waiver.  The case before them involved a 12-year-old New Jersey boy who broke his thighbone at a skate park, one week after his mother signed a waiver allowing him to skate there, and which contained a provision that allowed a suit “only if the skate park ‘intentionally failed’ to correct a hazardous condition or unsafe equipment.”  In their suit, the boy’s parents claimed the park “fail[ed] to supervise ‘aggressive skateboarders,’” which the park denies.  The park’s lawyer “predicted the ruling would have a ‘chilling effect’” on providers of recreational opportunities: “‘This affects field trips and a whole host of sports activities.’”  Relating a similar thought, a staff attorney for a legal advocacy group that filed an amicus curiae brief in the case stated: "‘These skate parks are a lot safer than skating on the street. …  The more you raise the cost, the fewer kids are going to be able to participate.’"

The Thrill is Gone
Sarah Larson, Intelligencer (Pennsylvania), June 8, 2006

“‘There's no question that playground designs are dumbed down because of concerns about liability,’” states Common Good Executive Director Franklin H. Stone in a piece detailing how traditional playground equipment is being removed nationwide in favor of “smaller, lower, plastic versions, perfect for the 5 and under set.”  Of Doylestown’s (PA) decision to install “’more modern seesaws,’” borough manager, John Davis, relates, “‘Certainly, the underlying issue is the safety of the kids.  But the litigation situation has been a powerful incentive.’”  Risk, however, “is vital to the success of playgrounds and to the development of child,” argues Marc Leathers, a playground designer.  “’I think we may be going a little too far,’” he states of society’s ever-increasing aversion to risk.  “‘Obviously, we want our kids to be safe out there.  But playgrounds are learning centers, and part of that is for kids to have certain experiences and figure things out for themselves.  And if kids don't do it on a playground, they grow up protected and don't know how to handle it later.”  Stone agrees: “’[T]here is no question that children getting out and using playgrounds is good for them and for society.  So we need to find a better balance between safety and risk.’”  article »

Is Litigation Taking the 'Play' out of Kids' Playgrounds?
Susan Harding, KATU 2 - Portland, OR, May 8, 2006

In a piece for KATU 2 News in Portland, OR, reporter Susan Harding relates that, while “[m]ost adults can remember the carefree days of childhood, climbing trees and jumping from swings, often on schoolyard playgrounds,” children of today “find themselves grounded, victims of a culture of fear and injury litigation.”  She reports that schools are increasingly banning such games as tag, dodgeball, and tetherball and that Portland Public Schools recently decided to remove all swings, merry-go-rounds, tube slides, seesaws, and other similar equipment from their elementary schools.  “Is there real danger on the modern playground?,” she asks.  Answering in the negative was one parent who expressed that “it's really the nature of childhood to take small risks and find out what they can do and what they can't do.”  A child psychologist Harding interviewed agreed, citing “the rising trend of childhood obesity in defense of letting kids play like kids.”

Our Laws Don't Promote Healthy Activities
Hammonton News (New Jersey), February 22, 2006

Citing the prohibition on “children younger than 18 years old” from being at a local park without adult supervision, and signs at the same park “[stating] that it is unlawful to swim there without a lifeguard on duty,” a recent letter to the Hammonton News laments “the outlawing of wholesome, healthy physical activity especially among young people.”  The letter continues, “I realize that swimming, like all human activity, is risky: occasionally people drown.  Yet if we were to outlaw the riskiest activity of all, we would ban the automobile. …  It's almost as if we are trying to create a totally safe yet totally boring ‘utopia’ that Aldous Huxley or George Orwell might have imagined.”

On Play and Playgrounds
Gary Shapiro, New York Sun, February 6, 2006

“’We have to rethink the playground,’” Susan Solomon declared at a recent launch for her new book, American Playgrounds: Revitalizing Community Space.  At the event, Ms. Solomon related “how playgrounds have changed since the middle of the 20th century” and how, today, “construction guidelines and concern over injury liability has limited the design of many American playgrounds.”  Seesaws, she noted, whose “thrill” is in their “potential danger,” have had the fun taken out of them.  Roger Hart, co-director of the Children’s Environments Research Group at the CUNY Graduate Center, agrees with Ms. Solomon.  Speaking at the same event, he noted that “many American playgrounds resemble a ‘hamster cage’ and that children ‘don’t particularly want to be there when they have a choice.’”  A third speaker argued that to encourage people to "rethink" America's playgrounds, focus should be placed “on how many Americans are either fat or getting fatter."  article »

Fatty, Porky, Tubby
Alexander McCall Smith, New York Times, December 15, 2005

An op-ed in the New York Times bemoans that “the whole culture of cotton-wool with which we have surrounded the bringing up of children” is contributing to society’s growing problem of childhood obesity by discouraging children from active, creative play.  “Physical activity of all sorts is cancelled or discouraged because children might be harmed,” writes Alexander McCall Smith.  “Playgrounds are closed or made unattractive because all potential risk is removed.  And all the time that horrendous sterilizer of the imagination, television, destroys the ability of children to play creatively.”  In the end, he warns, “[i]f we kill play, we kill culture.”

INK; Neck Deep in Rules, Before Getting a Toe Wet
Tina Kelley, New York Times, September 1, 2005

No jumping off the high dive. No diving into the main pool. No exiting except by the ladders. No sitting on three sides of the main pool. No food around the big pool apron. ... No wonder at least one child has called the Maplewood Pool "the rule pool." article »

New Mexico Mountain Resort Announces End to Shovel Racing Tradition
Business Wire, August 25, 2005

Angel Fire Resort has announced that it will end its 30-year tradition of "shovel racing" due to liability concerns. Shovel racing--a sport where participants race down a mountain sitting on the blade of a shovel--was created at the New Mexico ski resort in the 1970s. "We looked at many different ways to make this work," said Jon Mahanna, general manager, Angel Fire Resort. "The bottom line is, if we can't host this event in the tradition that it was founded then we have to step aside. Nothing will ever take away from what shovel races mean to Angel Fire."

Another Peril for Climbers
Eric Bailey, Los Angeles Times, August 22, 2005

The parents of a mountain climber killed by a rock slide in Yosemite National Park are now suing the National Park Service for $10 million. They have embraced the theory of a Radford University geologist who claims that water overflowing from sewage storage tanks atop Glacier Point is causing unnatural rock falls. But the Park Service cites other experts who say that theory is "out in left field." Since 1850, there have been over 500 rock slides documented in the park, according to an expert from the U.S. Geological Survey. "[T]he common demonstrable factors are the effect of the freeze-thaw cycle, heavy rainfall and earthquakes. Although water can trigger slides ... natural drainage into the soil from abundant snowfall dwarfs any overflowing bathroom water. In its first century as a national park, Yosemite has seen 15 people killed by rock falls. Given the more than 3 million visitors each year to the valley, the park has a good safety record." But while the enjoyment of climbers has, to date, outweighed the small risk of a serious injury, park officials say "a ruling against the park [in this lawsuit] ... could all but kill climbing in the Yosemite Valley."

Most climbers object to such lawsuits. "Everyone knows the sport is just inherently dangerous," one climber told the Los Angeles Times. "It's a shame for the kid who died," another added. "But it's wrong to find someone to blame. Otherwise you're suing nature."

Softball Player Agrees to Pull Lawsuit
Brian Lockhart, Stamford Advocate (Connecticut), August 11, 2005

During a rainy softball game in June 2003, John Kijek of Norwalk, CT, slipped and injured his right knee. He then sued the city, arguing that the Parks Department "should have cleaned the water and mud that had accumulated on the field or called the game because of the weather. He was seeking more than $15,000 in compensation for reconstructive surgery and physical therapy; loss of work and of earning capacity because of his injury; and mental suffering." But Kijek has now agreed to drop the lawsuit after the city "filed a countersuit and threatened to hire a private investigator [to] videotape him participating this season in softball games."

Private Obstacles Block Climb to 14,000-Foot Peaks
T.R. Reid, Washington Post, August 5, 2005

The Washington Post reports: "Of the 83 mountains in the United States higher than 14,000 feet, two-thirds are in Colorado, a point of towering pride for residents of this rugged state. ... Every summer, hundreds of thousands of people here set out to climb a 14er or two. ... [But] the Forest Service this summer is warning people that the trails up some of the most popular peaks are actually on private land." Maurice Reiber, whose company owns several pieces of land crossed by popular trails, explains, "We've known for years that people are climbing on our land. ... The reason we asked the Forest service to do something about it this year is because society has changed. Let's face it ... this is a lawsuit-happy country nowadays. If somebody breaks through a gate up there and falls into an old mine shaft, they might decide to sue me." Mountain-climber T.J. Rapoport complains, "Here's a guy who's generous enough to let people use his property for free. ... But the lawyers tell us there is no waiver, no release he could design that would definitely protect him against a jury verdict." article »

Skaters Fuming Over Skatepark Tickets
Matthew Artz, Berkeley Daily Planet, July 29, 2005

At Harrison Skateboard Park in Berkeley, CA, police are stepping up enforcement of a law "requiring skaters to wear a helmet, knee and elbow pads when using the skatepark." Violators are being hit with $100 fines. The reason: "[F]ear that injured skaters will sue the city." When the park first opened in 2002, the city's understanding "was that to avoid liability lawsuits under state law, they merely needed to post the [helmet-and-pads] law." But, said Deputy City Manager Lisa Caronna, "'when the city attorney's office took a look at [the issue] they didn't think it was clear cut that you could post a sign and then walk away. ... They weren't convinced that doing nothing to enforce the law would really protect us [against a lawsuit].'" Berkely attorney David Amell, himself a skateboarder, disagrees. The city is protected, he said, "whether it [chooses] to actively enforce the safety rules or merely post a sign. The only risk the city runs ... is to continue the current practice of stationing an employee at the park during parts of the day. 'If you have supervision of the skatepark and someone is hurt you can make the argument that they weren't fulfilling duty.'" In any case, attendance at the city skatepark has declined sharply because of the potential fines. "[S]katers are once again skating in the street or at areas less traveled by police." article »

Skater Claims Park Injuries
Tony Judnich, Vero Beach Press Journal (Florida), July 24, 2005

Some municipalities have refused to supervise skate parks because providing supervision means assuming liability. City officials in Sebastian, FL, may soon regret not taking the same approach. The family of a boy "who allegedly fell and broke some of his fingers while skating at the Sebastian Skate Facility wants the city to pay more than $15,000 in medical costs and damages." If the city refuses to pay, as they have done so far, the family has promised to sue. They allege that the "city failed to provide proper security at the park the day [the boy] was hurt, because it allowed him to skate without the [required] waiver." They also say the boy "was injured on a ramp that had debris on it." Even before the $15,000 claim, city officials expected to lose about $13,000 on the facility this year, due to the cost of paying staff. "The city possibly could avoid future problems ... and also save money if it decides to no longer staff the skate facility. ... 'But I don't think they'll stop using attendants there,' [a city official said]. 'You have too many parents worried (about unsupervised skating).'"

In the Pursuit of Safety, Teeter-Totters and Swings Are Disappearing
Chris Kahn, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, July 18, 2005

At Everglades Elementary School in Weston, FL, a tall metal sign warns children not to play "without adult supervision" or to use equipment "unless designed for your age group." "No running, pushing or shoving," commands the sign, which has been posted at all 137 elementary schools in the Broward County School District. With the new sign comes new equipment--"bright, multi-use contraptions ... lower to the ground than their predecessors, coated with plastic and engineered for safety" ... and boring to all but the youngest children. Education writer Chris Kahn recently observed two sisters, 5 and 6 years old, on the Everglades' playground: "The girls tried out the horizontal ladder and balance beam for a few minutes before settling on a game of stacking plate-size dirt chunks into a neat pile."

Says Jerry Grazione, safety-director for Everglades and the other Broward County playgrounds, "We could do a lot more if we didn't have to watch our back every single second. ... We sometimes get a letter from the attorney before we even get an accident report from the school." In fact, "[s]ince 1999, Broward County schools [have] paid out about $561,000 to settle 189 claims for playground accidents, about 5 percent of the amount the district spent on all injury claims in that time."

Better to Dive Right In
Whitelaw Reid, San Diego Union-Tribune, July 12, 2005

The Carlsbad (CA) Swim Complex has started a new Springboard Diving Program; "[o]ne of the program's goals is to field a youth team that can compete at the Junior Olympic level, but it's open to anyone who wants to learn how to dive. ... According to Dave Gorsline, an aquatics specialist at the Carlsbad Swim Complex, in recent years many pools in the area have removed their diving boards or no longer offer diving programs because of liability concerns. 'We had lots of folks come here and tell us that it's getting harder and harder to find facilities in the area and could we get a program going here,' Gorsline said." Carlsbad diving instructor Jared Heinrich added, "'[The children] love it. I can't get them out of the water.'" article »

Ramping It Up a Notch
Lee Bergquist, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, July 10, 2005

Skate parks may keep skateboarders off public sidewalks and roads, where they pose a hazard to public safety, but proposals to build parks have "faltered" in many communities "out of liability concerns and a residual wariness that hangs over the sport." article »

Warning: Rip Tide Alerts Not Islandwide
Brian Prince, Asbury Park Press, June 15, 2005

The mayor of one beachside town on Long Beach Island says having signs warning people of the dangers of rip currents is a "no-brainer." But in Long Beach Township, there are no such signs. The Township's attorney explains, "[T]here are liability issues to consider. According to the law, the town does not have to warn people about natural conditions, and if Long Beach put up a sign and a jury found its warnings to be inadequate, the town could possibly be found liable for a drowning or injury. Having no signs ... reduces the risk of being sued."

Rockbrook Welcomes Rocket's Return
Rick Ruggles, Omaha World-Herald, June 8, 2005

A crowd gathered to welcome the playground rocket back to Omaha's Rockbrook Park, two years after it was removed because of "safety concerns." But it's not the same rocket generations of children enjoyed; the City "took out the slide, trimmed seven feet of height from the rocket and rigged it so kid's can't climb inside. ... Letting children keep playing on it would have unnecessarily put them at risk of injury and taxpayers at risk of a lawsuit, [said City Parks Director Larry Foster]. ... Kids once crawled inside the 25-foot-high piece of playground equipment, then used the slide to get down. Mary Flynn, a neighbor who watched the crew install the rocket ..., said her two boys were among those who enjoyed the rocket. 'I even crawled up inside with them,' Flynn said. Flynn ... said she wished her boys could still get in, then slide down."

Brackett Park in South Minneapolis, MN, also recently lost its moon rocket to safety and liability concerns. The rocket, wrote columnist Doug Grow in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, symbolized "a time when we were more concerned with how high we might fly rather than how hard we might fall."

Man Who Filed Lawsuit After Injury Surprised Pool Is Closing
L.A. Tarone, Standard Speaker (Hazleton, PA), June 6, 2005

Robert Rogers and his wife say they "loved" the Mt. Laurel (PA) Pool. "We were regulars there," Rogers told the Standard-Speaker. But when Rogers slipped and cut his foot on a broken drainage gate, he wouldn't accept the offer by pool-operator Evelyn Graham to pay $2,000 to cover his lost wages. "I wanted a little bit more for pain and suffering," he said. How much is "a little bit more"? Rogers' lawsuit seeks $50,000 to cover his pain and suffering, plus another $50,000 to cover his wife's "loss of his assistance and companionship" due to the injured foot. In response to the $100,000 suit, Graham closed the pool for good, saying that she "didn't want to spend [her] whole life in court" and that "she feared 'copycat' lawsuits." Rogers laments that he will become "known as the guy who forced the pool to close"--something he might have foreseen when he was told in settlement negotiations that the pool "had trouble covering expenses."

The Mt. Laurel Pool "had been vacant and run down for about 20 years when Graham bought it and refurbished it, using her own money. Once re-opened, it became an instant hit. 'On a typical hot day, we drew about 800 people,' Graham said." The pool also employed about 40 or 50 school kids every summer. Graham's non-profit group, The Graham Foundation, "has operated the pool since 1990."

Keep Your Cool
Beth Vrabel, York Daily Record (Pennsylvania), May 27, 2005

The chilling effect that legal fear has on recreation will last beyond a winter that saw sledding hills closed across America. The York Daily Record reports that local swimmers "may have to drive a little longer and dive a little deeper into their pockets to find refreshing cool water this summer. ... The Four Points by Sheraton [pool] in Manchester Township no longer accepts members due to liability concerns. Spring Valley Pool of Red Lion ... [says] operational costs like a possible chlorine surcharge, liability insurance increases and salary jumps are behind the $5 to $10 increase the pool has on its membership costs."

Park's Future is Uncertain Amid City Budget Woes
Kalamazoo Gazette (Michigan), May 25, 2005

The Friends of Wood Lake know they may be facing a losing battle in their effort to keep open a public beach at Woods Lake Park in Kalamazoo, MI. "Kalamazoo's only public beach was targeted last fall for closure until public complaints prompted the City Commission to restore about $2,200 in funding. ... The city still planned to ban swimming over liability concerns but backed off again in the face of public opposition." The city will remove playground equipment they say is "dangerously close to the water."

For All Who Have Never Climbed a Tree
Marilyn Gardner, Christian Science Monitor, May 24, 2005

"One of the best gifts earlier generations of parents gave to their children was a simple command, delivered again and again: 'Go out and play.'" But times have changed, and not for the better, says Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from the Nature-Deficit Disorder. The new book looks beyond the usual suspects--urbanization, TV and video games--to identify other significant factors leading to children's lack of exposure to nature. Among those factors: "Countless communities have virtually outlawed unstructured outdoor nature play, often because of the threat of lawsuits, but also because of a growing obsession with order. ... Louv calls for a nationwide review of laws governing private land and recreation, especially those involving children."  article »

Teams Offer Help on Parks
Rachel Gordon, San Francisco Chronicle, May 2005

In April, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on the "lousy state of many softball fields in the city," and readers responded with "passionate comments ..., some quick to blame park crews ..., others saying the workers are too overburdened to keep up." One reader suggested that players could volunteer to fix up the fields; a large group can accomplish a lot in just a few hours, the reader said. But, the Chronicle reports, while "[c]ity officials are quick to express interest in the idea of volunteer involvement, [they] just as quickly toss out reasons why that's not the end-all solution. Topping the list are liability concerns--what happens if someone throws out their back patching the gopher holes in the outfield and decides to sue the city?" article »

Improvements Planned at Skate Park
Sally Barber, Cadillac News (Michigan), May 7, 2005

At the new Chris Blackburn Skate Park in Cadillac, MI, park users "are encouraged to wear helmets and protective pads, but not required to use them. Because mandatory helmet use would make the city responsible for enforcement and increase its liability, the city opts to make use of the park 'at your own risk.'" Elsewhere in the country, municipalities have refused to supervise skate parks, only to watch them become a hub for "alcohol, drugs, and rowdy teenagers."

Nature Deficit
Kevin O'Connor, Rutland Herald (Vermont), May 1, 2005

A new book by journalist and child-advocacy expert Richard Louv argues that children's lack of exposure to nature has led "to a slow but steady erosion of mental, physical and spiritual health." Youth today are afflicted with "skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes, depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder." But, Louv argues, the blame for these health crises doesn't fall only on television and video games. "Local governments, neighborhood associations, and even organizations devoted to the outdoors are placing legal and regulatory constraints on many wild spaces, sometimes making natural play a crime," the book description reads. One example: "the Girl Scout camps around Louv's city no longer let children climb trees because of liability concerns." As Common Good Chair Philip K. Howard has argued, Americans are no longer willing to accept reasonable risks. This attitude explains why "a 1991 study ... found the radius children were allowed to roam outside their homes had shrunk to a ninth of what it was 20 years earlier." It also explains why accidents are no longer considered accidents, but instead become occasion for filing a lawsuit. article » Louv's book »

Rec Upset About Skate Park Drugs
Doug Keeler, Taft Midway Driller (California), March 22, 2005

Taft Skate Park in Taft, CA, is being overrun by "alcohol, drugs, and rowdy teenagers," making it "unusable for smaller children." The park is owned by the West Side Recreation and Park District, but the district will not provide supervision because of the potential for lawsuits arising from accidents in the park. Society Watch previously noted a similar problem in Fort Wayne, IN, where a newly-constructed skate park became a hub for violent and illegal behavior, while the city declined to provide supervision.

Lawmakers Hope to Protect State Ski Areas from Lawsuits
Associated Press, February 25, 2005

A July 2004 decision by the Connecticut Supreme Court has ski-area owners in that state worried. A New York woman sued Mohawk Mountain after "she collided in 1999 on an intermediate trail with a ski instructor who was participating in a preseason ski clinic. ... [The court ruled that] a ski area operator can be liable for a collision caused by an employee. That's despite the 1979 state statute that says skiers assume certain risks, including 'collision with any other person by any skier while skiing.'" This winter, "[t]hey're already seeing signs that some lawyers may be interested in suing over ski-related injuries. One law firm rented a booth at this year's ski show in Hartford and hired attractive young women to pass out business cards."

Safety vs. Access as City and CSX Debate Crossings
Natalie Pompilio, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 10, 2005

Two entrances to Philadelphia's Schuylkill River Park require persons to walk across railroad tracks used by CSX, and the company, worried about liability, wants the entrances closed. CSX recently filed a lawsuit to compel the city to barricade the entrances. But U.S. District Judge Bruce Kauffman called CSX's proposal "extreme"; he has ordered the city to present CSX with alternatives.

High Blood Pressure: The New Childhood Scourge
Janice Billingsley, USA Today, January 10, 2005

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reports a "strong upward shift in blood pressure levels among 5,582 children, aged 8 to 18, who were tracked for the last 16 years." The study's lead author, Paul Munter, said the results were disconcerting because "one of the strongest predictors of heart disease in adults is high blood pressure in childhood." Obesity, poor diets and lack of exercise were all cited as causes of increased blood pressure in children. Munter recommends that parents, among other things, encourage their children exercise. But too often, the widespread fear of being sued and the refusal to accept reasonable risks is robbing children of recreational opportunities: playgrounds are made less fun, diving boards are removed, sledding is banned. article »

This Winter, Sledders Finding It a Tough Go
David Rattigan, Boston Globe, January 7, 2005

Across New England, private golf courses have long been popular sledding spots. "But sledding is out of the question these days," says Tom Flynn, manager of the Far Corner Golf Course, one of many to ban sledding in recent years because of liability concerns. As the Boston Globe reports, "The Norman Rockwell image of children sledding in New England snow is being replaced by a snowy hill with a 'No Trespassing' sign posted. ... As a result, sledding on the 10th hole is going the way of privately owned skating rinks or the diving board at the country club pool." article »

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