By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – A warning for parents from the New York Public Interest Research Group regarding potential dangers on some area playgrounds.
NYPIRG released its statewide 2006 playground safety survey titled "How Safe Are New York's Playgrounds. NYPIRG says the playground at Lincoln Park in the Town of Tonawanda topped the state wide list with the highest number of potential hazards for children.
"It scored a seven on the list. It was pretty unsafe, it scored fairly high on the hazard list," said Ann Zagare, local NYPIRG project coordinator.
The report examined 148 playgrounds across New York. Cory Bartos says the Tonawanda playground is among six in Western New York that scored high in several categories for potential hazards.
"Inadequate surfaces and fall zones, play equipment of unsafe heights, unsafe swings, clothing entanglement hazards, toxic playgrounds risks like lead paint and litter," Bartos said.
To demonstrate some of the hazards listed in the survey, Bartos showed reporters various problems at a playground on Grant and Bradley Streets in Buffalo. The slide was missing, leaving a large gap.
"A small child not paying attention could fall," Bartos said. "Pieces of metal are sticking out and litter with shards of glass. You can also see there is a lot of rust. This playground has not been updated or maintained in a very long time."
NYPIRG says according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, nearly 200,000 children are injured on public playgrounds each year, and an average 17 children die each year due to playground related incidents.
NYPIRG says it wants to arm the public with these potential hazards so it can put pressure on those who maintain the playgrounds to make necessary changes.