Everyone understands the beauty, majesty, and wonder of visiting our national parks. Closer to home, parks in the cities across the United States make life there much better. Many experts say that the act of designing and creating Central Park in Manhattan was more than a good idea, it was a stroke of genius. While local parks may not be as grand as that one, they do a lot to add to the quality of life of people in a city. There are things cities and counties can do, from properly maintaining the portable aluminum bleachers to making sure your playground swing seats are in good working order, to keep a park looking its best. Here are some tips, offered by Upbeat, to making sure your park is in good shape for everyone in the community.
- Put in enough trash and recycling bins. These should be placed in strategic locations all around your park. When you are planning this, you need to give some thought to just how much trash the people who visit your park are going to bring in so that you can procure enough to handle all of it. Thinking through where you place these items is critically important. Otherwise, if people cannot find them when they need to, you will find your portable aluminum bleachers are sitting on mounds of trash and waste. Most people do not want to litter, especially in a park, but they need a place to get rid of their trash.
- You cannot have too much signage. People sometimes forget that the park may not be as easy to navigate when you do not know the area. You need signs to direct people towards the trash and recycling areas, the restroom facilities, and other parts of the park. Signs reminding visitors that they should throw out their trash and recycling can go a long way to making sure people actually use the bins that you have placed throughout the park.
- Punish people who litter. People think of littering as a victimless crime but it really is not. You should have fines implemented for people who litter. There should not be one set fine but different fines that vary from where in the park the littering happens and how often a person is caught doing it. Put in a zero-tolerance policy. People often do not think that when they throw their cigarette butts away that it makes a difference but that is littering just as much as a soda can so it should be treated that way.
- Have the park cleaned professionally on a regular basis. No matter how many signs you have, trash and recycling bins you install, or fines that you levy, people will find a way to leave their mark. In addition to that, storms with toss leaves and branches all around your park. Also, your trash and recycling bins need to be emptied by professionals on a regular basis. You should also have staff inspect your portable aluminum bleachers to make sure they are in good shape.
- Enlist the help of the community. Community parks can become an important part of the lives of the people who live in your city. As such, bring the people in the area into your plans to keep the place very clean. You can organize days where people from the community come in and help clean the areas, such as your outdoor park benches, playground, and portable aluminum bleachers. A lot of parks fins success with these efforts when they make it fun for everyone. Some make it into a competition and other parks make use of social media to get their message across.
- Keep it an alcohol and tobacco-free area. Many people are trying to stay away from tobacco smoke for health reasons and if you want to make your park stay family-friendly, banning both alcohol and tobacco products is the only way to go. Many areas also have laws against open containers of alcohol so barring it from the park should not be a big deal.
Parks can be a big part of any community. Keeping the park in tip-top shape can make it more enjoyable for everyone in the area.
