Playground safety is often the source of contentious debate, with some Australian parents constantly chasing their children to assess possible threats, while others take a more laid-back, “they’ll be right” approach.
So when one parent criticized a new disabled playground in a Sydney park, his comments sparked a heated discussion.
He shared photos of Hunter Park at Balmoral Beach on Sydney’s lower north shore, imploring others to see “what’s wrong” with the way sandpits are now designed.
“Nothing can stop a child from rolling off the edge!” the father told the Mosman Living Facebook group page on Monday. “It’s taken so long to build the worst possible play area. I’m very disappointed and angry at what the council has done compared to what should have been done.”
While some thought the feature was “very weird” for safety reasons and believed it was “designed by someone with no experience caring for small animals,” most people overwhelmingly approved of the sand pit.
An early childhood educator commented: “This is considered safe as the fall was less than one meter and landed directly on soft ground.”
Mosman Council explains playground design
Mosman Council confirmed changes to the park and sandpit were made as part of the council’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan and they had not received any complaints about the height of the sandpit.
“The park’s sandbox has two places for wheelchairs to roll up under the sandpit, provides users with access to put their hands in the sand, and was developed with input from accessibility experts,” she told Yahoo News.
“There is a ramp to access the sand pit digger so that wheelchair users can be accommodated. The park also has a trampoline built into the ground which is fully accessible. A stable swing will also be installed in the playground.”
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