Mission Local yesterday announced the release of a citywide playground report card, in which Dolores Park’s playground ranked amongst the lowest of the low. The failing grade indicates the playground is ill-signaged, under-equipped, dirrrty and unsafe.
Over at Curbed SF, Susie Cagle points out that just four years ago the same playground got a B, and asks whether this might be a case of politics undermining playground report card propriety.
You know, because the city wants everyone to get behind its forthcoming renovations.
The good news is, other neighborhood playgrounds rank amongst the highest of the high. Read on.
[via SFist]
Infographic by Mission Local.
Previously:
Maybe there are politics at play, but that playground is a serious dump. Among other awesome features, there’s a swingset in the middle of a large pool of stagnant rainwater/dog urine. I was there during the week a few weeks ago, and I saw a toddler take off his pants and throw them in that water. His dad shouted “oh HELL no” and threw the pants away in a nearby trash can. The kid walked home wearing a diaper.
To be fair, A-grade Mission Playground, an excellent place that we adore, can be rough around the edges. In the last week there’s been parents picking up broken glass from the asphalt walkway within the fenced-in children’s playground. And within the fenced-in Valencia Street hardscape, small kids played with broken bottles, watching them shatter to smithereens.
The bathrooms at Mission Playground drain right into the sand over at that corner….
The silliness of all the attention on this (not to mention the F grade without an asterisk) when the playground has an upcoming groundbreaking for a completely high-end upgrade/rebuild within the year has been poorly summarized at best, and intentionally obfuscatory at worst… again, though, MissionLocal leads the pack and a whole horde follow in due sequence.