Today, I wrote a letter to someone at the Parks Department who is in charge of developing new play areas. She once held a community meeting for input on a new park in our neighborhood. I have followed up with her on occasion to find out what is happening. Here is part of my latest letter to her:

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I also wanted to just send some notes about great ways we enjoy the parks and what structures seem to get the most play.

This weekend my family had an opportunity to leave our neighborhood and visit two incredible parks: Magnuson Park in Sandpoint and Volunteer Park in the Central District. At Magnuson we heard music in the ampitheater and loved exploring the outdoor gardens and the children's garden as well as the traditional playstructure areas. At Volunteer Park the kids played on the traditional play area as well as the wading pool and picnicked under beautiful old trees. Wow. These are gems of parks.

Here are my observations of what made these parks magical.

What made these parks spectacular was the amount of open space, quiet skies and freedom from vehicular traffic.

Natural play areas for exploration!

Trees. Please incorporate them into planning play areas. Shade makes it so much easier for families to hang out without lathering on sunscreen.

Slides that go....Also noted slides that go all the way to the ground or very low off the ground seem much safer. The kids loved the natural playscape step slide at Volunteer park.

Swings, both the chair and harness type, for infants and children with special needs.

Natural climbing places: low walls, log balance beams, sculptures that are fun to climb over and under such as at Volunteer Park

Pagodas, that offer shade, seating (benches), and places for imaginary play.

Imaginary play places such as the bus station at Magnuson.

Sand play areas with natural features rocks, trees.

Picnic tables /grassy sitting areas near the play areas.

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