What happens when Toronto takes the ‘play’ out of playground – The Globe and Mail
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“Ms. Yunusov wistfully recalled the old slide, with a curving set of climbing bars up to the platform. “It was fun because there was no easy way to get [up],” she said. Now, she added, glancing at her daughter wandering around the new park, “there’s nothing [fun]. We don’t really go here any more.”
Such are the unintended consequences when liability concerns trump play. As the city, the school board and other agencies install the newest generation of CSA Group-approved equipment, the result is often playgrounds with gear designed almost exclusively for very young children; the more traditional elements – including sandboxes and swings suitable for under doggies – have been scrapped in the name of risk management. “Everything is built with litigation at the forefront.”