Platform swing for wheelchair users in Dulwich Park

[gmm]

Any ideas about how to keep intact and operational the platform swing for wheelchair users adjacent to the children's playground in Dulwich Park? It's been vandalised AGAIN and there may be a limit as to how many times the council/Friends will fix it. It's a FANTASTIC resource for entertainment and therapy for a few people I know and we haven't found anything similar for miles and miles around. Is the answer not to lock it - this means that 'bona fide' users would have to buy and bring special retaining straps with them so not ideal? I suspect the lock is broken and then bits stolen because people cannot use the swing without a Radar key but feel the need to get on it and use it 'because it's there'.

This is a plea for this lovely swing to be repaired for a second/third/fourth time - but with all the cuts to frontline services everywhere, we know it might not be a priority as it's for the use of a small minority. Not all wheelchair-using adults and children would want to swing on it (not everyone likes to swing when they grow up, after all) but for those who can and do, the experience is priceless.

On a different note, the wheelchair-accessible children's roundabout is getting difficult to push - I think the bearings may be worn so that is a different issue entirely... :-)

[kristymac1]

one way is for us all to 'remind' non wheelchair users that this swing is not intended for them. I pointed this out to a teacher who was with a number if students on a trip to the park who were using the swing (maybe 8 -10 kids at once). she was a bit Embarrassedi guess but not nearly as much as she should have been!

[macutd]

why shouldn't it be used by all? Just have it as priority for disable when necessary.

[Al&Em]

There's no excuse for damaging it, or using the clamps which need a Radar type key to access if you don't need them (eg aren't using it with a wheelchair), but as macutd said pretty sure there is no sign saying it can't be used by anyone just as a swing - happy to be corrected...

[gmm]

Hi, I'm the OP. The platform swing is fenced off as a deterrent to non-wheelchair users. The wheelchair mobility/disability symbol is a feature of the fence design.

The design of the platform itself will not allow it to be used without a Radar key since there is a heavy-duty lock underneath the platform attaching it to the ground, preventing it from moving unless one uses a Radar key to unlock it. The removable straps that clip a wheelchair frame to the platform are cached underneath in a recess secured with the same lock.

It is this lock that has been broken twice - it would take serious intent to do so - and the last time, the bar that holds wheelchairs in place when the platform is swinging was broken too - this was wanton damage as it would not prevent anybody from using the swing. An attempt has been made to fix the broken bar but it is a poor job.

The reason why I wrote was because I imagine anyone can damage anything if he/she/they really want(s) to. I wondered whether people who know the platform swing - that has "disability" symbols all over it - thought that if it were made accessible to all i.e. had the lock removed so that it could move freely, it would then lose the only 'cool' thing about it which is that it is "prohibited" - so people would stop trying to get at it.

Actually now I think about it, the reason why it is fenced off is that this very heavy platform swinging would be a major safety hazard to passersby especially children were it not secured. To use it, one has to open a gate bolted from inside (so that short children cannot reach it), go into the enclosure, bolt the gate behind one... and then go through the procedures required to use it safely.

So the question has to be, probably, how to deter vandals from damaging it. This equipment, I now realise, HAS to be used in a controlled environment or it could do serious damage to other people. The wheelchair user him/herself requires adult assistance to access it.

It's a great piece of equipment, well designed for wheelchair users to use safely - but a real hazard in uncontrolled 'general' use. Maybe a sign to say "This is great kit if you are a wheelchair user. It is locked to keep others safe. Please respect this and do not cause damage as then wheelchair users cannot use the platform. Thank you."