Go here and take a look at the picture. I’ll wait.
Okay, done? Now, tell me, especially those of you who have kids or spend a lot of time around them: what is that?
Loading ...Truthfully, I’d never even heard of a splash fountain before we moved here, but apparently they’re the perfect and popular solution for a community that doesn’t want to maintain and staff a public pool. No standing water means far less risk of drowning, so lifeguards aren’t needed. (EDIT: Apparently, this has changed (PDF file), and it’s now also part of the problem, though it wasn’t mentioned in the article above.) The first time we drove past our fountain in the summer and I saw hordes of kids cavorting in the spray, I was initially surprised (again, never having seen one before), but I quickly saw the appeal.
Apparently, though, the city somehow didn’t foresee it, and now they’re going to put a big chain-link fence around the thing to keep kids out. Now, won’t that be attractive? 
I get that it wasn’t designed to deal with treated water, but I don’t get how they didn’t anticipate the result of putting up something that is virtually indistinguishable from recreational splash pads around the country. It was obvious to children, at least, from the very beginning, when the son of Laurel Clark, for whom the fountain was named, dashed into the water at the dedication ceremony.
Perhaps it’s not feasible for the city to pay the cost to maintain the system as it deals with chemicals for which it wasn’t designed. It seems sort of gauche to have let it be used that way for five years, only to surround it with an ugly fence and tell the children, “Go pound pavement; no fun for you.” There are no public pools in town. We’ll be using the quarry a lot more in coming summers, but there’s a fee for that; other folks will use the lake or have nothing at all. Somehow, this doesn’t strike me as a great move toward keeping kids busy and out of trouble.
Boy, am I not looking forward to the whining when it gets hot again. I’m not just talking about my children, either.
Sam, at the fountain this summer
I feel nearly the same way about decorative “ponds.” Can’t let anyone play there, it’s an open drowning hazard, collects waterfowl and their assorted … detritus. What is the point, exactly?
(I’m talking about large ponds in housing developments or in front of corporate “parks,” not a homeowner’s small koi pond, in case that’s not clear.)
The whole world is a playground. Except, you’re not allowed to use it. Nyah.
When I moved here I thought the purpose for that thing was for kids to play in. It wasnt until my 5th visit that i actually saw that it was a monument.
If they want something kids wont play in, make it surrounded with a step. Kind of like Kenosha’s foutain. Duh.
Seriously, that’s about the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard!
I didn’t know it was a monument until I read that in the paper. We went there once and after I noticed some creepy mid40s guy wearing shades was veeery closely watching my 3 yo dd in a tankini, we never went back.
But still, to put a fence around it is just asinine!
Seriously? There are NO public pools in Racine??
I thought K-town was bad for having a grand total of *2* pools for a 90k population…
We have the same issue going on here in Chattanooga. There is a “monument” downtown very close to two other water play areas (the wading river by the aquarium and the Coolidge Park Fountain across the Tennessee River) that drew lots of kids/ families in the warmer months.
Then there was some structural damage on it, caused not by the kids but by the way it was made. As the city has been trying to get it fixed (and suing some people along the way), the dumb Mayor we have came out and said, “It was never intended for children.”
Well, hell-O! It is less than 50 feet away from another water gathering spot and across the river from a very popular fountain. Oh, and let’s not mention the posted signs about “no diapers.” If that doesn’t scream “Kids, play in me!” then I don’t know what does.
Sorry, sore spot.
Some very ill planning on the part of the city. That absolutely says, “Come play in my water!”
And no pools?!!
We’ve got 3 here and a huge outdoor water slide park too. And we live in the boonies! What’s up with Racine?!
Those water feature parks are So much fun!! We had an amazing one in WA, with non-slip flooring that was also cushioned incase a child fell. I hope Racine catches on for the kids’ sakes!
When we were in Dallas last year we came across one of these. And of course my kids ran right in, because we had been walking downtown and it was HOT. We were the only ones around. However, a policeman came and told us no one was allowed in the “fountain” Hmmmm ok??