Parent Protests Result in Argonne Playground Upgrade

by Carol Dimmick

The SF Recreation and Park Department reversed itself in October and promised to expedite the renovation of the Argonne Playground after an angry group of parents confronted top department officials with pictures of unsafe play equipment.

In September Argonne Playground was downgraded from a top priority in the 2000 Capital Plan, a blueprint for rebuilding the city's aging recreational facilities. A revised plan has the project starting in 2004 or 2005. The setback caused an uproar among parents whose children use the 18th Avenue playground and clubhouse.

"Argonne Playground was supposed to be first (for renovations) because it is in such poor condition. It is the busiest playground and the one that is in the worst condition," said Lisa Auer, president of Friends of Argonne Playground, an ad hoc group of more than 100 neighborhood families.

Argonne Makes "Worst" List in National Report

Earlier this year, the playground gained notoriety when the U.S. PIRG Education Fund and the Consumer Federation of America released a joint report that called Argonne Playground "one of the three worst in the Bay area."

The nationwide safety survey included 1,037 playgrounds in 36 states and focused on hazards that cause the most serious playground injuries.

According to the report, Argonne made the top tier because it lacked adequate protective surfacing around play equipment and the height of the play equipment was found to be hazardous. The report found a lack of adequate spacing between swings that could lead to serious injuries and the report cited playground equipment with hidden hazards that could cause head entrapment.

The report also found the play equipment had protrusions, projections and gaping holes it said could cause serious injury or even death.

Argonne, like many public playgrounds in the City, is scheduled to be rebuilt as part of the Recreation and Park Department's $400 million, 10-year Capital Improvement Plan.

To prioritize projects for renovation, an assessment was made in 1999 of the city's 227 aging recreation facilities. As a result of the assessment Argonne was scheduled for repairs in the first year of the plan.

In July, Auer and other parents whose children use Argonne were astonished to learn that their recreation facility was bumped from its priority position in the Capital Plan in favor of Rochambeau Playground. Rochambeau was moved forward when a group of parents, with the aid of Supervisor Jake McGoldrick, successfully lobbied department officials.

Janelle Pierce, recreation director at Argonne Playground, was particularly distressed when she heard the news. Every day more than 100 children use unsafe equipment and squeeze into an aging clubhouse designed for preschoolers for after school activities, Pierce said.

"We have been given the responsibility of running the after-school program, but the clubhouse was designed for toddlers," she said.

To make their point, parents took pictures of the hazardous playground equipment to department officials. The City sent a crew out to repair the worst of the broken and damaged equipment, but parents insist they will not rest until the City keeps its word to rebuild a modern, safe playground and clubhouse on schedule.

President of PROSAC Questions Decision

The department's decision to leapfrog Rochambeau ahead of Argonne on the renovation list raised eyebrows at an Oct. 6 meeting of the Park, Recreation and Open Space Advisory Committee (PROSAC), a citizens watchdog group established to make sure the department spends bond funds efficiently and appropriately.

Isabel Wade, president of PROSAC, criticized the department for disregarding its own assessment by bowing to political pressure."

"The point of having a capital plan is that there is a reason for these things. It seems that this is a case of the squeaky wheel getting the grease," Wade said.

City Ignores Regulation Requiring Inspections

For the past several years San Francisco has ignored a state regulation that requires public playgrounds to be inspected by a certified inspector.

The law, passed by the state legislature in 2000, also sets detailed specifications for the design, installation and maintenance of public playgrounds.

Gary Hoy, manager for the Recreation and Parks Department's Capital Program, admitted in a recent public meeting that to his knowledge the department has not inspected public playgrounds for safety violations since the 1999 assessment.