Warning: Casey Anderson and Montgomery Parks are Not Telling Parents About Danger of New Park! @caseyandersonPB @MontgomeryParks

Casey Anderson and Montgomery Parks are celebrating the opening of a park in Kemp Mill. The surface of the new urban park is made from ground up tires.  It is a well known fact that ground up tire athletic or play surfaces get much hotter than natural grass.

MCPS has now posted warning signs (see below) on artificial turf fields due to the dangerous conditions of these fields on warm or hot days, but Casey Anderson and Montgomery Parks are not warning parents and children about the dangers of these surfaces.

According to MCPS Heat Index guidelines, if the Heat Index is over 105 degrees there are to be no outdoor activities.  Is Montgomery County Parks going to close these playgrounds when the Heat Index is 105 degrees or higher?

Community Use of Public Facilities advises field users to vacate the field at times of excessive heat and users will receive a credit of their rental fee. 

Parents can monitor the daily Heat Index at the National Weather Service website before sending kids to play on ground up tire playgrounds.

Temperature reading from Kemp Mill Park on June 30, 2017. Credit Sheldon Fishman. 

MCPS Heat Guidelines

The following is MCPS heat guidelines that apply specifically to activities conducted on artificial turf fields. 

• Anytime the outdoor temperature exceeds 80 degrees, coaches exercise caution in conducting activities on artificial turf fields. 
• When outdoor temperatures exceed 90 degrees, coaches may hold one regular morning or evening practice (before 12 noon or after 5:00 pm). 
• When the heat index is between 91-104 degrees between the hours of 12:00 noon and 5:00 p.m., school athletic activities are restricted on artificial turf fields to one hour, with water breaks every 20 minutes.

A heat warning sign is posted at all artificial turf fields to inform community user groups.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/facilities/maintenance/default.aspx?id=496174