There are currently 132 playgrounds in the city of Portland — but if you’re planning on designing a new one of your own, it’s important to understand exactly what you need to do beforehand, during the construction process, and afterwards.
You already read about the importance of hiring professional bark blowers to achieve quality barkdust blowing, in addition to knowing the exact age groups that will use the playground, figuring out the measurements and dimensions of the play space, and planning for all the various types of activities that will occur at the playground. But now it’s time to take an even deeper dive into the essentials of designing and running a playground:
- Safety as your number one priority — Throughout every step of the playground design process, you need to remember that safety should be your main concern. If your play area is not safe it will not last, no matter how fun it is. You need to consider safety every step of the way.
- Set a realistic budget (and stick to it) — Unless you have all the money in the world, you need to actually set a realistic budget. During the brainstorming process, you’ll probably have hundreds of amazing ideas that would truly make this playground terrific, but they are all probably too expensive. So set realistic expectations and stick to them.
- Maintenance needs and availability — You can’t just design a great playground and leave it for children to destroy. After a while, those kids will surely damage certain parts of the play space and you’ll need to handle the maintenance duties, or at least delegate them to someone else. Make sure you’re at least considering your playground’s maintenance needs for both the short- and long-term.
- Don’t forget the basics — Lastly, it’s important to not forget any of the essential items that every playground needs. Remembering to focus on the best cedar playground chips without spikes is important for safety but you can’t ignore the basics. Make sure your play space has enough trash cans, parental seating, drinker water, storage space, and any necessary playground of safety signage.
Hopefully these tips help you design the perfect playground for your community! If you’re in need of high-quality playground chips and want to consult with some of the best bark blowers Portland has to offer, give Barkdusters a call today!