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Minutes of a Meeting of the North Olmsted Parks and Recreation Commission November 6, 2006 Page Four sand that’s fairly uniform in size and relatively dust free. Several trees are shown in the diagram that surrounded this, so it would be relatively shaded. Mr. Meyer showed a close-up detail that showed all of the features that are in the playground areas. There is an access ramp so children with limited mobility or using a wheelchair could access fully the equipment. There are a number of features that are geared for the age group of two to five year olds. Mr. Meyer said there is a transportation theme built into the playground. He showed the area on the lower left of the sample as a fire truck environment; the upper right as airplane terminal environment, so that there is a few different themes in place. There are also two spring toys, and those can be a variety of types. For demonstration purposes, Mr. Meyer presented a bulldozer and a motorcycle. The material that is suggested for this age group is a recycled plastic, the advantage of which is thermal conductivity that, as you touch the play equipment, and they are really hot or really cold, that degree of temperature will not be felt. The deck surfacing has a pebble grain so that it is skid-free, textured for easy traction, splinter-free. All edges are radius. The color of this material and the recycled material is all the way through. You can see in the lamination there is an eighth of an inch of color on the surface on each side. The rubber sample, when squeezed with your hand, is fairly dense; however, when stepped on, one can feel the difference with the way it springs. The whole purpose of having the surfacing is to meet not only ADA standards but to meet the playground safety standards established by the federal government. There is an area required, in most cases six feet minimum, from each portion of play to the edge of the rubber. The rubber surface sits on top of the grade and, at its edge, goes down and hooks into a gravel pit. The whole area has a gravel base. At that point where it turns into the gravel, the lawn comes up and overlaps that bevel. There is a seamless connection between soil, lawn, and rubber surface. The base it fits on (compacted limestone) is fully enclosed by the rubber surface. Questions? Ms. Adams said she saw steps but no ramps on any of the equipment. What is the reason for this? Mr. Meyer said that the ramp is not shown in the photos and is basically a twelve foot long access ramp, which means an inch per foot rise from grade to the elevated area. The highest point of accessibility is 54 inches. There is one climbing element from that point. The next highest point is 43 inches, and there are two slides from there. Mr. DiSalvo asked if Mr. Meyer could explain how this really goes beyond ADA compliance and how this is benefiting children with disabilities normally found in parks. Mr. Meyer said that what you are allowed to do to meet the letter of the law is to have a transfer position that someone in a wheelchair pulls up to and, in theory at least, pulls himself out of the chair out to a transfer platform and pulls himself throughout the play system with his upper body. There are several issues with that. Generally speaking, children in chairs use their chairs as part of their being; it’s not something that they normally remove themselves. The caretaker can take them out, generally. Secondly is climate. There are only so many days that temperature, dryness, etc., would be appropriate enough that even if Page 4