Durable, high quality park site furnishings can transform a public space into an ideal representation of your community. The appearance of public parks is so important. After all, according to a study conducted by Keep America Beautiful, 93% of homeowners said they would think twice before purchasing a home in a “dirty” neighborhood.
Public parks represent their neighborhoods in many ways. Run-down or “dirty” looking parks are often a result of inadequate park site furnishings, here’s how:
-Not enough trash receptacles = more litter
-Improperly placed trash receptacles = even more litter
-Rusting or cracked park benches = no one wants to sit there
-Burned out lights or poor light quality after dark = doesn’t feel safe
-Cracked, broken or otherwise run-down site furnishings = does anyone maintain this park?
Benches, trashcans, lampposts and other site furnishings quickly lose their charm after they rust, crack, peel or show other signs of breaking down. There’s no getting around the fact that park site furnishings undergo a lot of wear and tear. Not only from people, but from the weather and natural elements as well. As a result, you need durable and long lasting site furnishings that can stand up to these challenges.
By employing TerraCast’s park site furnishings, you can avoid many common reasons public parks start to look dirty, rundown or uninviting. Read on to learn tips to outfit public spaces with superior park site furnishings.
Park Site Furnishings: Benches
No one wants to sit on a rusty bench; corrosion is the first step to a broken bench, which could potentially cause injury. Investing in high quality park benches that are resistant to corrosion and rust is crucial.
Park benches come in many shapes, sizes and styles; the varieties you select should fit in with the demographics of your park’s neighborhood. Are you catering to younger children, the elderly, or a wide mix of age groups? Some benches include arms and a back, which offers more support to the elderly and can help prevent kids from getting hurt. It’s also far more comfortable to sit back and read a book or watch your kid play on the playground when you have something to lean back against. It’s recommended to employ a variety of different park bench styles to accommodate unique preferences.
Our park benches are made of metal and coated in thermoplastic with a black powder coated galvanized steel under structure for maximum durability.
Shop our complete collection of park benches
Park Site Furnishings: Trash Receptacles
If littering is an issue for a park it makes a negative statement about a neighborhood and the surrounding community. In fact, litter is proven to decrease property values. The good news is that research tells us there are ways to reduce litter, such as adding more trash cans and placing them in the right spots.
Researchers have found the farther people must travel to locate a trash can, the more likely they are to litter. That’s why adding more receptacles can make a big impact to reduce litter.
Case and point: Los Angeles, California was dealing with a major littering problem throughout the city. Part of the problem had to do with the fact there were only 1,000 trash receptacles in total on the city’s public streets and gathering spots. That’s why Mayor Eric Garcetti made the decision to install 5,000 more trash cans throughout LA with the goal of making it easier to locate a nearby trashcan and throw away garbage.
When Walt Disney conducted extensive research on how to keep Disneyland trash-free, he found that placing trash cans no more than 25-feet apart was the optimal target. It’s not just how many trash cans are in each area, but where they are placed matters as well. Trash cans should be placed near entrances/exits, near benches and other places people gather. No matter where someone stands in a park, there should be a trashcan in their line of sight.
Further research showed when trashcans were located 10 feet or less from a person, there was only a 12% litter rate. When trashcans were located 30 + feet away from a person, the litter rate increased to 30%.
They come in a variety of colors to help catch people’s attention, and they can be customized with graphics, logos, you name it!
Shop our complete collection of durable and long-lasting trash receptacles
Park Site Furnishings: Lighting
Lighting increases safety and can play up aesthetics too. Solid lighting poles, tree ring lights, in-ground lights and other fixtures should be resistant to rust, dings, corrosion and other damage. Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time before lighting fixtures start to look worn down and in need of replacement.
LED lighting is ideal in terms of energy efficiency. LED bulbs last 30-50x longer than incandescent bulbs and they consume a lot less energy.
High quality fixtures outfitted with LED bulbs puts you on the road to park lighting success, but where you place fixtures matters too. Fixtures should be spread throughout the park to prevent dark corners that welcome illicit activity or make visitors feel nervous or unwelcome. Lighting fixtures should also highlight important areas and features, such as walkways, playgrounds, and trash cans—after all, you don’t want people to litter after dark simply because they can’t see receptacles.
TerraCast lighting fixtures are unbeatable in terms of quality, longevity, looks, and functionality. We offer a huge selection of options including LED rock lights, mushroom lights, square bollard lights, tree ring lights, and the list goes on.