Playground Buddy

Does what it says on the tin: It shows playgrounds on a map. Obviously the app will never be completely comprehensive - I found numerous omissions in my home town. But it is very easy to add playgrounds. One downside is the list of features shown for each playground. When you add a playground, you can indicate whether or not it has a zip line, a hockey net (what is that?) or a tennis court. But bizarrely, you cannot indicate whether or not the playground has a sandbox(!) or football (soccer) goals. Maybe this is a result of its Canadian origin, but it does make it slighly less useful in Europe. Also, some features are not intuitive. Does «water access» mean access to drinking water, to play water, or that I can take my canoe to the playground? Same with «trails», «field» and «school». Definittions of the features would help. The app lets you define various surfaces for the playground, but grass is not one of them. Again, a strange omission with European eyes. Having the option to define that a playground is on school or kindergarten property would be nice. No satellite photo of the map is a slight negative. Being able to rate or recommend playgrounds would help. There is a small non-obtrusive ad on the bottom of the app - it would be nice to be able to pay to remove ads.

Most parks I click on in this app lack information and photos. My guess is people including myself don’t want to log in to contribute. Google is vastly populated with information and photos because it doesn’t require logging in.

Thank you! It’s a wonderful app. Keep up the great work.

Love this app and actually enjoy editing parks that are in my area. Great for travels and needing to let the kids run without going crazy on Google maps.

The concept is neat, but I would love to see a filter to show playgrounds that offer inclusive playground equipment for kids with disabilities. (If it’s there, I couldn’t find it). I do see when you add a park you can check off a few accessibility notes - but i would love to see it show playgrounds that actually have equipment that a child in a wheelchair or mobility issue or other disability can access and play with (wheelchair accessible merry go rounds, etc) - not just swings. Parents of kids with disabilities (and parents and grandparents with disabilities) know just how few parks with inclusive equipment exist, and this would be a very valuable tool if it included such a filter! Also, I noticed that the Spark Parks are left off this app. Spark Parks are community parks located at public schools that are open to anyone in the general public after regular school hours, and on weekends and holidays. I added one… Lastly, I tried to submit this feedback through the app itself, but just got a blank screen.

All I had to do for a download the app and see that there is no useful information.

When you first sign in and it locates you- it says “no playgrounds found”. You have to zoom out and then you’ll see some location markers. When you click on one you get an “id number” and the location on a map. That’s it. No name. No photos. No description; oh except for “we don’t have a lot of information on this playground”. If you click on “get directions” it will open Apple Maps… wow. I wish I could give it 0 stars.

This app is all but useless. We’ve only been in this community for two weeks and we already know where more playgrounds are than are featured in this app. No pictures. Just hasn’t attracted contributors. Because it’s basic.

I LOVE this app!! I swear I keep telling everyone I know about it. I wish this was made when I nannied because we would just drive around aimlessly looking for a cool park! I’m always talking about how neat this app is and how you can search for certain things if you want. It’s easy to use, and FREE!

Awesome idea and app! After all, you have captive audience for free content update - all the parents stuck at playgrounds. Minor bug: when adding notes, the text shows up black on black background (maybe because of iOS dark theme?)