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Kim Johnson ReportingSpring is the time when kids, and maybe their parents too, can't wait for a swing in the park. But the big old steel swing-sets we grew up with are slowing disappearing.
In 2004, only 57-percent of school playgrounds and half of child care centers had steel swing-sets. 79-percent of public parks still had them, but with safety regulations requiring so many feet of variance surrounding the swings and soft landing space, they're expensive.
When Holladay preschool upgraded its playground a few years ago, several old features went away, including the old steel swing-set.
Diane Stallings, Holladay Preschool: "It was metal and it tends to, I guess they were complaining that it was rusting, hard to maintain, and it was really big, and close to a lot of things."
Safer, more cost-effective, and maybe less thrilling structures now dot America's playgrounds. But some miss the merry-go rounds, see-saws and swing-sets of yesteryear.
Val Pope, SLC Parks Div Dir.: "Especially people as old as me, there's a nostalgia for what was. And then when we start explaining to them what really was with the injuries, and they understand."
So if you spot a merry-go-round or an old 16-foot high steel swing set, take notice, there are fewer of them every day.
