In addition to liability and safety fears, the Americans with Disabilities Act turns out to play a role in the decline of swing sets at public playgrounds: it seems the least expensive way to make a swing set safer is to surround it with sand, but sand is considered a non-accessible surface for wheelchairs which makes it suspect under the ADA. (Scott Simonson, “Safety rules retiring playground standby”, Arizona Daily Star, Sept. 7). See Mar. 28, Aug. 23, etc.

