Who are these swings for, anyway?

I know the city of Vancouver prides itself on its parks, but since I live in unincorporated Clark County I don’t take my daughters to many city parks.

Are all of the swings designed for giants?

jbswings

This is at John Ball Park in the Hough neighborhood, and I’ve heard from some Hough parents who wish the swings could be used by children. Maybe they were annoyed by the swing chain lengths at one point; now the chains are just a funny example of government incompetence. (To be clear, I’m not talking about the baby swings, as they are normal.)

Eileen Cowen, co-chairwoman of the Hough Neighborhood Association, said her No. 1 priority this summer is to get the city’s parks department to replace the chains, and has made a request to the department. Cowen, who said she’s 5-foot-7, said she has to jump to get into the swings.

I’m three inches shorter, and I gave it my best shot. Seriously, I know I’m short for an adult, but if I’m sitting on a swing supposedly designed for a child, my feet should be able to reach the ground.

 

Update: I’d left a message for a parks official before I wrote this post, and this afternoon I received a tweet from the city:

 

Stephanie Rice

Stephanie Rice

I cover Vancouver city government. Reach me at stephanie.rice@columbian.com or 360-735-4508.

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