Signs not enough: KC tapes off playground, exercise equipment amid COVID-19 crisis
Signs banning the use of playground equipment were not enough.
Playground and exercise equipment in Kansas City, as of Saturday, are being cordoned off with yellow security tape to prevent the ever-increasing spread of the coronavirus.
Tennis court nets are being removed.
“We’ve worked really hard to spread the word since closing courts and playgrounds on the 24th,” Roosevelt Lyons, the deputy director of the Kansas City Missouri Parks & Recreation Department said in a statement Saturday. “We understand that some may not be aware of the closures and some may choose to ignore the precautions.
“We feel adding these additional steps will help reinforce the closures and keep our community safe.”
A number of cities in the Kansas City area, such as Fairway, Kansas, have already cordoned off playground equipment., In some communities around the country, basketball court backboards have been removed.
Despite the effort to warn the public, children continued to play on playground equipment. As recently as Saturday, groups of men used exercise equipment together at Kansas City’s Mill Creek Park, despite a sign in front of the equipment.
“They are not readings the signs,” spokeswoman Heidi Markle texted in making the parks department announcement.
The city has 112 playgrounds in its 221 parks.
This story was originally published March 28, 2020 at 3:42 PM.
