In December 2014, John McGovern, one of the leading experts in playground accessibility and president of Recreation Accessibility Consultants, shared an in-depth piece where he explained which ADA regulations cover playgrounds run by the state government, local government, non-profit organizations, and businesses.
In his post on the NRPA discussion boards, McGovern clearly stated that, “a state, county, city, school district, or special purpose park and recreation district is required by title II section 35.105 to evaluate its existing sites for compliance with the only playground access standard, the 2010 Standards. In our world of playgrounds, we refer to this step as an access audit.”
McGovern went on to say that not all playgrounds need to be made accessible, but that all playgrounds should be evaluated and there should be a plan in place to retrofit a certain number of playgrounds so that they are accessible. There is no recommendation as to what percentage of the local government’s playgrounds should be retrofitted, but steps in the right direction must be taken.
Local governments with playgrounds built before and after 2011 should consider the following questions:
- Has your department conducted accessibility audits on your existing playgrounds?
- Do all your playgrounds built after March 15, 2011, comply with ADA regulations?
Read the rest of John McGovern’s excellent piece at the Playground Professionals News website.
