Winter conditions--like snow, ice, and fluctuating temperatures--can hasten the wear and tear of playground equipment. Extreme winter weather can create hazards and unsafe conditions on playgrounds. A parks maintenance team taking proper safety precautions and promptly addressing weather-related issues allows children to safely use playground equipment in any season.

Many modern parks have an abundance of turfgrass. Some of it gets used often--like athletic fields, play areas, or event spots. Other times, it’s an unused open area that needs regular maintenance. Is there a solution to cut costs as well as make better use of relatively unused land? Yes, and the answer may be closer than you think.

You heard the public’s demands for pickleball courts. You transformed some older, hardly-used tennis courts into pickleball courts. Now the noise complaints are rolling in. What can you do? Here are some solutions for pickleball noise.

You’ve just about made it through another busy growing season. Chances are you had some smooth patches and some challenges along the way. Now is an excellent time to prepare for next year. Don’t put it off- starting to plan can make next year go so much smoother.

The changing seasons mean more indoor activities. The focus shifts from mowing and park maintenance to more facility maintenance. A well-maintained facility gives the public a safe, welcoming, functional environment to enjoy programming and events. Like our playgrounds and park assets, facilities benefit from routine inspections and maintenance tasks to stay at their best.

If your team finds its workflow disrupted by equipment breakdowns, facility issues, and constant park repairs, it may be time to examine your preventative maintenance plan. The best way of dealing with problems is by catching them before they become major issues. Scheduling routine preventative maintenance for your assets helps prevent breakdowns, injuries, and workflow disruptions.

If not already, there will probably come a time when everything your maintenance department does will need to be outlined. For those that have worked in the field for a long time, this may mean taking everything that’s become instinctual and turning it into something tangible. You may not even know where to begin. Here’s a starting point…

Parks and recreation agencies looking for more accessible, durable, and consistent surfacing may use unitary materials to surface their playgrounds. Are they worth the extra cost? Compared to loose-fill materials, these playground surfaces can require less maintenance throughout their lifespan. Learn about some of the more common unitary surfaces.

According to the National Playground Safety Institute (NPSI), over 79% of all playground accidents are from children falling onto improper surfacing. In fact, surfacing is number 1 of the NPSI’s Dirty Dozen playground hazards. Choosing and maintaining suitable surface material for a playground helps reduce the risk of serious injuries. But what is suitable for your playgrounds?

If you have trails and paths that joggers, cyclists, and moms with strollers all use, there’s a good chance it’s made of asphalt. Asphalt provides a smooth, durable surface.The flexibility of asphalt allows it to withstand freeze-thaw cycles and last longer. When properly installed and maintained, it could last well over twenty years.