Eyesore of the Month - December

[Seabishop]

http://www.kunstler.com/eyesore.html

He's got a point with this one.

 

[Planderella]

Not only will the kids have to be driven there, they will have to play during the day. There are no street lights or playground lights to be seen in this "idyllic" neighborhood.

 

[The Irish One]

That is a sucky playgound, very sterile.

 

[H]

That playground is an obvious result of a requirement and not as a development enhancement. Meaning many times developers are required to install a playground by a local planning department in order to get the project approved so they take the worst piece of the property and stick a minimum jungle gym on it to appease the board. The developer never really cares if people like it or use, it is just there so he can get his permit. The planners are happy, because they feel that something (as opposed to nothing) has been accomplished and the residents don’t really care as long as the prices are cheap.

Pretty typical.

 

[SlaveToTheGrind]

He does have a point. However, when I was of playground playing age (1970's) I road my bike with all my friends to all the neighborhood playgrounds (we played outside in my day). My neighborhood was comprised of 1/2 acre lots and no sidewalks so it may be different when it is located in attached low-mod income housing.

 

[tsc]

I particularly like how children can roll down the hill into the road...

It'll be a place for teenagers to go smoke crap at.....

 

[donk]

At least there is a parking lot by the playground so the parents can drive them there.

 

[Duke Of Dystopia]

Love the avatar Donk! Do you read Cerberus comic books too?

I would add to this discussion, the fact that the playground equipment would be just as sterile if it were properly placed. The proper mixture of activities in all parks has been reduced in the last 20 years. Almost all equipment has been replaced in exchange for wee tiny equipment that minimizes any risk to children. Sterile risk averse environments are now standard no matter where they are.

It could have been worse, they could have put the playground in the emergency storm basin like they did next to my complex.

 

[JNA]

what else is missing is:
1. a bike rack
2. a yellow warning sign
3. a picnic table
4. no kids playing

 

[Cardinal]

I am skeptical. The angle of the photo was meant to create an impression that the playground is further from the buildings. I note also that it focuses on the road, and does not indicate what may be to either side. There is a sidewalk on the road and one leading up the hill beyond the playground. What is up there? Perhaps there are more residences in close proximity? Kunstler (and others) too often use misleading images to fabricate examples of "bad development" for me to trust him.

 

[ludes98]

I agree with Cardinal on this one. The photo is intended to have the road and flat terrain dominate the landscape. It may be that some things are closer, but directly adjacent to a roadway is not a great place for a playground. In my neighborhood people would try doing 40MPH on that road.

 

[The Irish One]

Kunstler (and others) too often use misleading images to fabricate examples of "bad development" for me to trust him.

How dare you, he would never do that to us, never.

I think there is some houses up the hill on the right and probably to the lower left.. Put some trees around the parking lot and a couple to border the street. Then more teens can feel safe from evil dogooders while smoking pot.

But of course, the truth is that Mom will drive them there.

Mom and Dad usually work full time, kunstler. The kid will be at home or walking to the park more likely.

The proper mixture of activities in all parks has been reduced in the last 20 years.

I'm interested to hear about this, it isn't a subject I've given a lot of attention to. I'd like to hear some examples.

 

[OfficialPlanner]

Why can't we just admit it's a horrible development. The parking lot alone is ridicules. I do agree with H that it's probably the result of an requirement rather then a enhancement but still does not change the fact that it's a planning mistake.

 

[Jessie-J]

I miss merry-go-rounds.

I'm thinking that there should be a definitive barrier-visually if nothing more, that "retains" the children and pot smokers on the playground. Do we know that this street is a main thoroughfare? Seems to me that it could possible be the back of the apartment complex...what if there is a trailhead or something where the photographer is standing. ?I agree, additional proximal housing is also something we don't know. I'm thinking the only eyesore here is that the play equipment just sucks. Swinging gets old after you swing a few times.

Did anyone ever swing so high that they went around the top bar? Know someone?? I always heard of a friend of a friend blah blah that broke an arm and a leg or whatever, but I've never seen it happen. Can the force of swinging actually get strong enough for a child (or adult) for that to happen? Urban legend?

 

[Cardinal]

Did anyone ever swing so high that they went around the top bar? Know someone?? I always heard of a friend of a friend blah blah that broke an arm and a leg or whatever, but I've never seen it happen. Can the force of swinging actually get strong enough for a child (or adult) for that to happen? Urban legend?

Yeah, playground equipment is not as fun as it used to be. There were few things better then fighting the centrifugal force of a wildly spinning merry-go-round. Safety in the public sphere is far too over-rated.

As for your swing question, while I don't know the physics of it, I do not think it is possible. Once you reach the furthest extent of your upward swing, you loose any outward motion. Instead of descending on an arc, you descend perpendicular to the ground. As a result, you loose the momentum you need to rise higher on the next swing.

 

[Duke Of Dystopia]

........Did anyone ever swing so high that they went around the top bar? Know someone?? I always heard of a friend of a friend blah blah that broke an arm and a leg or whatever, but I've never seen it happen. Can the force of swinging actually get strong enough for a child (or adult) for that to happen? Urban legend?

Plenty of people have cracked open skulls, and busted various bones on those older types of playground accessories. They used to have concrete under the 18 foot high swings were I grew up. They were great. They were great learning devices we have taken away from kids. Mainly "Think before you do something stupid".

My favorite was the swinging gate on a pole. If you did not fall away from the gate when you got dizzy, it would come around and smack you in the skill or put the step plate in your back. Don't trust your friends!