How to Choose Park Benches to Place in Your Neighborhood Park

People don’t just pass through a great park. They want to sit and stay a while. Neighborhood parks are places to meet friends for coffee, arrange playdates, or simply take time to sit and breathe. Park benches give guests a place to fully enjoy it, and they should be chosen carefully for your neighborhood park so they can be used for years to come.

 

Style

 

What environment do you want to foster? The style and features of your park benches will invigorate, relax, and invite guests to enjoy nature. Wide benches with a back cater to people looking for a place to read or have long conversations. Narrow, back-less benches are wonderful places for joggers to stop and catch their breath.

 

Color and material help set a scene. Wooden benches are unobtrusive in forested areas, bright colors on thermoplastic-coated seats excite the senses, and elegant finishes invite couples, photographers, and guests looking for a touch of luxury to make themselves at home. Different benches may fit different areas in the same park. Something bright and sturdy is great for seating around ballfields. Something ergonomic encourages people to sit and enjoy a lakeside view.

 

Mount

 

When choosing the right mount for your park benches, determine what kind of surface you will work with, what the environment is like, and what forces could potentially push benches over.

 

Portable benches are, as the name suggests, moveable. Think of them as outdoor furniture rather than fixtures. Small parks hosting performances, parties, and seasonal events may benefit from portable rather than mounted seating, especially in mixed-use areas.

 

Surface-mounted designs typically require a concrete surface. Special holes need to be drilled for the bench’s mooring pins or screws to enter, and the piece is fixed in place. This is a common choice for park benches. It won’t topple in the face of wind or over-eager children. Although it isn’t designed to be moved like portable furniture, a surface-mounted bench is theoretically easier to replace than the third option, making it the happy medium.

 

Inground mounts need deep holes and lots of fresh concrete. They are designed for high-activity structures that support a lot of weight and movement, like playground equipment. These measures are more than many parks need, but they’re worth considering in places with severe weather and flooding. They’re also good options for locations without existing concrete paths or pads.

 

Durability

 

Consider who will use your park benches and how long you need them to last. Your budget should accommodate updates, repairs, and replacements as needed. Thermoplastic-coated options frequently outlast the competition, but it’s impossible to perfectly predict a bench’s lifespan.

 

You may get a better idea of what materials do well in your climate by visiting nearby parks and recreation centers. Do you see a variety of wood, metal, and plastic? Take note of issues like rusting, mildew, or sagging, and reach out to park districts, rangers, or local maintenance crews to see how long those fixtures have served. Get a rough estimate of how popular the parks are, too, because traffic wears down benches as much as exposure.