Sawyer Tot Lot and Safety Issues

The Sawyer Tot Lot is a newly-installed playground at Sawyer and South 35th Street. It can be a little tricky to find, but once you realize that Sawyer doesn't go all the way through and you have to access it directly from 35th, it's not too difficult. Two days ago, I was there with my 4 year old, my friend Courtney, and her two children ages 4 and almost 2. She lives within walking distance but had only been to the park once since it opened last Fall, because of the isolated location and difficult design for the age of her kids. Today I came back with my own two, and they had a very good time on the equipment, especially my eldest.

Sawyer is a decent playground for the 5 to 12 year olds the equipment is designed to serve. There's a large play structure, swings, a basketball court, and a little green space with picnic tables and a bench in the center. There are no bathrooms. Although it has some baby swings, it's definitely mostly big kid stuff.

Although partially fenced, the barriers have hidden gaps a parent might not expect. This particular fence has a wide, un-gated opening, and large 2 to 3 foot gaps between the ornate front fence and the less pretty chain link on the sides. One of these gaps is particularly scary, because it is hidden behind a large shrub and leads out to the street, which leads to a sheer drop down to the freeway, bordered only by some rickety wooden construction barriers. It does appear that a fence is being installed next to the freeway overpass, although presently there are only posts.

Sawyer's fence actually has five openings, one of which is to the alley in the rear of the park, and another a big hole in the back fence that someone must have cut last summer when the park was still under construction and locked up. It's possible for a child to run through these rear openings and quickly pass out of a parent's view.

On our first visit, we were there for about an hour and saw only one other child use the park for a few minutes, while her mother mostly waited in the car just outside the fence. Today was a day off from school, so I had hoped to see more big kids there. We saw only one other child on the playground, playing basketball by himself, and although we could see and hear children in the courtyards of neighboring apartment complexes, none of them came to the playground.

After our first visit to Sawyer, I spoke with playground safety expert Paul Hogan, of Playground Clearinghouse. We talked about fences and playground safety. He's testified in several lawsuits for families of children who had been struck and killed by cars after running through playground fence openings.

In his opinion, while it isn't necessary for a fence to have a gate, any opening should at least have a "baffle," which is a barrier that forces a child to change directions a few times before they can exit. This gives a parent more time to snatch a child back from a fence opening and makes it less attractive to the child.

I called Metro Parks about the fence gap issue, and eventually reached Kristie Evans, the Sawyer Project Manager. We spoke about the gap behind the shrubs, which she said she would investigate. I also sent her the picture I had taken, with labels.

Later, I emailed her for more information regarding other Sawyer design issues. Here's that conversation:

The equipment is mostly labeled for ages 5-12, is this a change from the "tot lot" designation in the park name?

No the name has just always been that way we have several that use that connotation, it really just means a small neighborhood park.

Is there a population of school-aged kids that uses the park in the afternoon?

During public meetings for the design this is what the majority voted for.

What is the ultimate plan in regards to the fencing?

The new fencing was replacing the bollards and rail system that was there. I see your point about the gap but we did just replace as it was and had no inquiries in the past. I will bring this forward for discussion.

Is this a transitional stage?

This is project completed the $170,000 of the 2005 Bond Funds that was voted on. At this time there is not any other funding set forth for this park.

Is there any plan to add signage pointing to the park?

As I recall there is an existing universal playground sign on the main street. At this time there are no others planned.

I had hoped to talk to some parents in the area, but I haven't been able to spot anyone else at the playground. If you live near the Sawyer Tot Lot, I would love to hear about your experiences with this park.

More Sawyer Pictures on Flickr

Sawyer Tot Lot
S 35th and Sawyer Streets
Tacoma