Proposal:Extended playground equipment

Extended playground equipment
Proposal status: Draft (under way)
Proposed by: Supaplex030, tordans, Ygramul
Tagging: playground=*
Applies to: , ,
Definition: Add more device values for playground tagging.
Draft started: 2022-08-02

Proposal

This proposal adds more values to the list of documented playground=* equipment to better map typical devices that had no documented value before.

Rationale

There is an established list of 33 playground devices in the wiki, that can be mapped with the key playground=* as individual objects within a playground (leisure=playground). Mapping individual objects allows to precisely evaluate the feature, the quality of playground as a whole and more detailed renderings on maps and plans.

However, there is a great variety of playground equipment that cannot be matched with existing values. We are a group of mappers who have done a lot of playground mapping over the past few years and have come across a number of playground equipment that we miss. The TagInfo listing shows that other mappers seem to feel the same, so there has always been a need to get creative to come up with new tags. This has led to a large number of parallel, rarely used, undocumented and therefore hard to interpret tags. We would like to close this gap and make recommendations on how such equipment should be tagged.

Playground equipment comes in almost every imaginable shape, design and function. It will never be possible to map every single one of them exactly. However, it is mostly possible to match even unusual, special devices into a certain "class" of equipment, e.g. balancing, climbing or water equipment. For this purpose, this proposal provides some general class values as a fallback in order to be able to map and evaluate such special devices in an interpretable way.

Tagging: List of new device values

Key Value Element Comment Photo TagInfo

Some general new devices

playground belt_bridge A tensioned, flat (mostly rubber) band to bounce on.
playground spring_board A board or plane to stand on that is attached to the ground by springs and thus wobbles when standing/moving on it. Can sometimes also be equipped with holding bars to allow to "surf" on it.
playground hamster_wheel A large spinning tube to go inside and twist arround, similar to a hamster's wheel.
playground ride A fixed installation to sit on.
playground four_square Ground markings (similar to playground=hopscotch) for Four Square game (a team sport played among two teams with two players each on a square court divided into four quadrants).
playground track A path on a playground that is intended and equipped as a race track for childrens scooter and bikes. It should have markings, obstacles or objects such as "petrol stations".
playground blackboard A board to draw on with chalk or something similar.
playground map A map painted on a paved surface at a playground or school to teach geography to children.
playground marble_run A rolling ball sculpture where a ball (often a marble) moves through a predefined course just by gravity.
playground musical_instrument A musical instrument or device for making music and sounds. musical_instrument=* could be used to further specify the type of instrument.
playground megaphone A tube device to shout through (not to be confused with a playground=speaking_tube, where two tubes are connected to communicate with each other).
playground table A table or board to play on or sit at. May include seats/benches or sand toys such as a sieve. Typically not sized for adults. For picnic tables on playgrounds that are also suitable for adults see leisure=picnic_table.
playground seat A single seat or bench for children. Typically not sized for adults to sit at. Often part of play houses or similar.
playground hammock A hammock, i.e. a spanned/tensioned surface to lie on.
playground artwork A work of art/artful object as an element of playground decoration. If it has a significant art relevance, consider also adding tourism=artwork.

Devices as parts of playground structures

playground steps A stairway to get onto a platform or structure.
playground ladder A ladder to climb onto a platform or structure.
playground ropebridge A simple suspension bridge whose deck is suspended merely by cables or similar attached at the ends of the bridge and therefore wobbles or swings when moving on it. This value is an easy way to distinguish suspended/wobbling bridges from fixed/solid bridges without requiring knowledge about bridge construction. However, consider adding bridge:structure=* or cable_number=* if you can identify them to specify this more precisely.
playground platform A platform, raised level or even a tower, often with railing elements, and often with other playing or climbing devices on the sides or connected bridges. Is often part of a playground=structure that can be mapped separately as an outline containing all parts that together form the structure.

Swing devices

playground tyre_swing A swing where you sit on a (car) tyre.
playground rope_swing A swing element (usually a big rope) attached with chains or cables, on which usually several children can swing together at the same time.

Balance devices

playground balancebeam A long horizontal beam (often wood or metal) to walk across while keeping balance. May also have a rope to hold on to (handrail=yes).
playground balance_rope A rope (or several together) to walk across while keeping balance. May also have a rope to hold on to (handrail=yes).
playground slackline A slackline, i.e. a suspended flat webbing/band/belt/strap that is tensioned between two anchors.
playground stepping_stone Shifted stones or blocks with a distance between each other, for hopping or stepping from one to the next. See also fitness_station=stepping_stone, if the stepping stones are part of a leisure=fitness_station.
playground stepping_post Shifted posts or poles with stepping elements with a distance between each other, for hopping or stepping from one to the next.

Climbing devices

playground climbing_slope A sloped climbing plane, often with handholds or tethers and often part of a structure to reach a higher level.
playground climbing_pole A pole to climb up or slide down. For climbing poles that are part of a leisure=fitness_station, see fitness_station=climbing_pole.
playground monkey_bars Horizontal bars or hoops above head height to hang from by one's hands and move over hand over hand. For monkey bars that are part of a leisure=fitness_station, see fitness_station=horizontal_ladder.
playground parallel_bars Two or more bars side by side. In a playground setting often slanted. For parallel bars that are part of a leisure=fitness_station, see fitness_station=parallel_bars. For vertical bars, playground=climbing_pole may be more appropriate.

Rotating devices

playground spinner A rotating device that, in contrast to a playground=roundabout, is very small, mostly only a small footboard or seat on a stick for one child.
playground spinning_disc A simple rotating disc. In contrast to a playground=roundabout, there are no add-ons to sit or hold on to.

Sand play devices

playground chute A sloped chute or tube, mostly to transport sand by gravity from a higher to a lower place.
playground sieve A sieve, allowing to separate fine-grained sand from gravel (in a playground setting typically not finer separated than that).
playground sand_wheel A small wheel that turns when sand falls onto it. Often combined with a chute directly above.
playground sand_seesaw A channel or board on a pivot that can either route sand in two different directions, or allows to dump all accumulated sand in a chute-like manner when pivoted (when initially horizontal).
playground sand_pulley A small bucket or similar device holding sand (also common are sections of tire) that can be moved to another place. Typically either horizontally or vertically; may be mounted on a swivel to give a little more movement range. Often part of structures where it then allows to transport sand to other sand play devices mounted on the structure.
playground excavator A small play excavator, allowing to move sand (or that rounded fine gravel) around a bit. Always fixed in place. Usually unpowered as just a series of metal linkages controlling the excavator bucket. For bigger, usually fenced off excavators with a fee=yes consider using attraction=*.

Water devices

playground pump

A water source to play with. Often this is an actual pump with handle (consider also adding man_made=water_well + pump=manual), but may also have different forms, such as a water wheel lifting water from a reservoir, or a button that can be pressed for water to flow for a limited time. For water flowing continuously or without interaction, use sprinkler instead.
playground water_channel An inclined channel for water to flow towards other devices. Typically raised so that multiple channels in series route water from a pump to ground level. For water channels in the ground, resembling natural streams, use water_stream instead.
playground water_stream A meandering stream of water resembling a natural water stream and looking a tad less artificial. Often enclosed in an artificial bed of stones.
playground water_seesaw A seesaw-like water channel for either diverting water to two different places, or for automatically tilting and emptying when full.
playground water_basin A pool where water gathers, inviting either to run around in or combine it with sand to mud (also known as "mud table"). May have exits to other channels or even a drain in the bottom (sometimes with a plug).
playground water_barrier A removable barrier for water that inhibits flow towards other devices, often via an adjacent channel.
playground archimedes_screw A screw-like device for lifting water from a lower to a higher elevation.
playground water_wheel A wheel with small buckets or paddles that rotates when water flows into and over it.
playground water_cannon A (usually movable) device that allows targeted spraying of water.
playground sprinkler A (often continuously-running) jet of water, often directed upward.

Topographical devices

playground mound Artificial hills, elevations, waves etc. intentionally designed for play. Sometimes devices like slides or tunnel tubes are placed on or in them.
playground dome A half-sphere to climb and slide on.

Fallback values for devices, that clearly fit into one equipment category, but do not fit well any of the existing subcategories

playground balance An unspecified device to balance on.
playground climbing An unspecified device to climb on.
playground rotator An unspecified rotating device.
playground water An unspecified water device.
playground sand An unspecified sand play device.

Examples

Features/Pages affected

  • The list of playground=* equipment needs an update: Add the new values and regroup them in some more device categories.

External discussions

  • RFC announcements: Community Forum | Mailing List
  • Since the launch of this proposal in summer 2022, individual playground devices have been regularly discussed in the German-language Telegram channel and the proposal has thus been expanded and sharpened.
  • Discussion in the community forum about "namespacing"/using device sub categories in value naming.

Comments

Please comment on the discussion page.

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