What Is ADA-Compliant Playground Surfacing and Where to Buy It

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 sets minimum design requirements for playgrounds to ensure inclusivity. Noncompliance may discriminate against users with physical and/or mental disabilities, exposing the playground owner to liability.

Learn what constitutes ADA-compliant playground elements and the best source of inclusive play areas.

What Are the ADA’s Playground Requirements?

The ADA requires playground designers, installers and operators to optimize play areas for accessibility, age separation, conflicting activities, sight lines, signage or labeling, and supervision.

Regulatory frameworks and standards exist to establish the technical specifications for key playground elements. Examples include the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines and the Public Playground Safety Handbook by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

These guidelines ensure that play structures promote safety and minimize injury severity during accidents. They also support diverse activities for users of different ages and with various physical and/or mental impairments, provide unobstructed paths connecting them to adjacent areas like parking lots, and improve compliance with other relevant laws like the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA).

Top 5 Places Where You Can Buy ADA-Compliant Playground Surfacing

These five companies are the leading sources of ADA-compliant playground surfacing solutions on the market.

• No Fault Surfaces

  

No Fault Surfaces started as an athletic surfacing company in 1974, pioneering the poured-in-place (PIP) safety surface in the U.S. Over the past 50 years, it has installed over 16 million square feet of PIP surface across 8,000 projects worldwide, including playgrounds and theme parks.

In 2019, No Fault Surfaces became part of PlayPower, Inc., a leading manufacturer of commercial playground equipment, shade structures, floating dock systems and personal watercraft lifts. This acquisition allows the company to offer integrated play areas in different environments.

This vendor has a broad range of safety surface options that exceed the ADA and ABA playground requirements and meet multiple American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. It has custom color capabilities and a national network of certified crews. No Fault Surfaces offers maintenance and repair kits for complete playground life-cycle support, and it sells products that qualify for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design credits.

Key features:

• Prioritizes unitary surface design for mobility devices
• Provides critical fall height protection
• Is a member of the International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA)

• SafetyFirst

  

SafetyFirst installs and maintains commercial playgrounds. It specializes in Nature’sPlus engineered wood fiber and can combine it with PIP material for a hybrid surfacing solution.

The vendor has served Midwest school districts, parks, municipalities, architects and engineers for over 15 years. SafetyFirst’s consulting service helps you plan and design inclusive play areas. It leverages its familiarity with local soil conditions, local regulatory requirements, regional budgetary constraints and funding mechanisms to offer practical advice to clients. The company’s deep knowledge of the latest accessibility standards ensures you can relocate or expand play structures in an ADA-compliant way.

A proactive maintenance approach is the secret to this contractor’s projects’ longevity and budget friendliness. SafetyFirst thinks 10 to 15 years ahead to forecast the life-cycle costs of play areas. It prefers preventive measures over reactive ones and tailors maintenance plans to individual needs. The company extends emergency repair services within 24 to 48 hours.

Key features:

• Excels in turnkey project management
• Coordinates with third-party vendors to manage logistics
• Values personalized service and long-term business relationships

• adventureTURF

  

adventureTurf is one of the first playground makers to specialize in PIP rubber technology. It exclusively sources rubber granules from American Recycling Center, Inc. This manufacturer maximizes its deep knowledge of rubber surfacing chemistry and performance to develop superior material processing for consistency and durability. The result is virtually maintenance-free playground surfaces lasting 12 to 15 years.

This vendor takes pride in safety-first engineering. Beveled edges, accessible routes, ground-level components and slip-resistant surfaces are standard features of its inclusive play areas. Its structures meet critical height fall requirements, and the thickness of their base layers depends on the equipment’s fall height. adventureTurf’s engineers ensure proper surfacing for specific play areas.

The company balances aesthetics and affordability. It offers a wide selection of color options and rubber tiles in various patterns. It works with construction experts to integrate playgrounds into the landscape. It can do a 50-50 mix of black and other hues to design beautiful playgrounds while minimizing material costs. adventureTurf finds ways to deliver quality products while working with budget constraints, like exploring grants and other funding opportunities.

Key features:

• Offers end-to-end playground construction solutions
• Has mobile installation teams
• Maximizes regional expertise to manage projects with local regulations and climate in mind

• SpectraTurf

  

SpectraTurf offers seven playground systems, which you can mix and match to create varied play experiences. It can retrofit existing playgrounds and create brand-new installations. The company prioritizes wheelchair accessibility, using special surfacing around wheelchair-accessible equipment and maintaining wide access routes.

This playground maker offers various customization options. Its PIP systems support intricate, custom shapes and patterns, allowing unlimited design possibilities. It can add visual pathways to help visually impaired users navigate. SpectraTurf offers more than 24 colors across its product line and can create themed designs to include custom graphics, logos and more.

This vendor upcycles through its parent company’s Ecore™ TRUcircularity™ program. It collects old surfacing and converts it into new ADA-compliant playground surfaces instead of discarding it. This innovative process earned it a grant from the CalRecycle Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery in 2020. SpectraTurf has helped divert more than 123,200 tires from landfills.

Key features:

• Has multiple IPEMA-certified products
• Offers an interactive visualizer tool to let you experiment with countless color combinations
• Extends professional support to optimize playground layouts

• ChildForms

  

ChildForms offers dozens of playground layouts by type, age and application. It provides turnkey playground structures and packages for toddlers, preschoolers and school-aged children. Its play areas are suitable for neighborhoods, parks, churches and schools. The company provides a custom quote if you want to modify its standard designs or create one from scratch.

This vendor offers many freestanding amenities, including swings, web climbers, balance beams, crawl tubes, park benches, spring riders, bike racks and shade structures. ChildForms structures consist of ¾-inch-thick polyethylene panels, have a proprietary coating for weather resistance and use a two-piece clamp system for stability.

The company takes pride in speedy delivery. It can ship some of its products in as few as five days and complete complex projects in four weeks.

Key features:

• Designs modular play structures
• Has 30-plus years of industry experience
• Offers budget-friendly products and financing options

A Roundup of Leading Providers of ADA-Compliant Playground Surfaces

Here’s a summary of the top playground makers’ supported regulatory frameworks and industry standards, play-area surfaces, length of warranties and service areas.

Comparing the Best ADA-Compliant Playground Surface Makers

Consider these factors when evaluating companies that manufacture ADA-compliant playgrounds.

• Regulatory frameworks and standards: Explore the specific legal frameworks and safety industry standards a vendor observes to have an inclusive, safe play area.

• Surface options: Find the types of surface materials a playground maker specializes in to fit your needs.

• Inclusive features: Assess the design elements a manufacturer incorporates into play structures to meet the unique needs of users with physical and/or mental impairments.

• Impact attenuation: Check how a play area’s design minimizes the risk of injury.

• Playground layouts: Learn about the standard layout options a contractor offers and how these designs meet the basic ADA playground requirements.

• Customization: Discover which design elements you can modify to fit your vision.

• Credentials: Determine a playground manufacturer’s relevant accreditations, certifications, awards and affiliations, which speak volumes about its competence.

• Support: Know if a vendor offers maintenance and emergency repair services to keep your playground in good condition.

• Experience: Judge a playground manufacturer’s track record based on its years in business, portfolio and customer testimonials.

• Warranty: Understand which playground components a supplier guarantees to be free of manufacturing and cosmetic defects and for how long.

• Delivery timeline: Ask a vendor’s average construction timeline to set your expectations.

• Service areas: Ensure your prospective contractor can legally install play areas in your location.

• Pricing: Request an estimate to see whether your desired playground design fits your budget, and inquire about maintenance expenses to gauge a play area’s life-cycle costs.

Buying ADA-Compliant Playground Surfaces

Inclusive play areas are a civil right. Use a credible vendor to ensure your playground meets or exceeds minimum ADA requirements. Learn more about each provider’s offerings to bring your vision to life without exceeding budget.