Playground Assets - Using CPTED Principles
31 Jul 2025
Well-designed playgrounds foster imagination, creativity, and skill development in young minds, while also promoting physical health and wellbeing. Additionally, they offer a space for families to spend quality time together, strengthening bonds and creating lasting memories.
Investment in playground spaces presents opportunities for communities to promote a culture of health, happiness and connection, which ultimately contributes to stronger, more resilient communities, and an essential feature of our playgrounds are the public toilet facilities.
Crime prevention through design
Toilet amenities can be a haven for undesired activities if not designed with safety in mind. Exeloo public toilets are designed with Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles in mind.
Using this architectural design platform can transform potentially unsafe public toilets into secure and welcoming spaces.
CPTED-based public toilets in playgrounds prioritise natural surveillance, visibility and accessibility. Features such as single cubicle design, open sight-lines and well-lit areas deter potential offenders and create a sense of safety for users. The placement of public toilet buildings in visible locations, such as near playground equipment or walking paths, increases foot traffic and encourages community monitoring.
Exeloo also incorporates a range of proprietary fixtures made with tamper- proof materials designed to eliminate the effects of undesirable interference with equipment.
Combine this with regular maintenance, and the new Exeloo Preventative Maintenance Program and Exeloo facilities promote a reduction in vandalism and anti-social behaviour.
Prevention maintenance programme
The Exeloo Preventative Maintenance Program (PMP) was designed to create a more proactive approach to maintaining public facilities, including playgrounds and public toilets.
In essence, the facility operator agrees to engage an Exeloo Accredited Service Agent (ASA) to undertake regular (typically quarterly) fleet inspections of their Exeloo public toilets. The inspections are designed to review specific elements of the Exeloo Public Toilet system and automatically deliver a report of the facility's health to the facility manager and Exeloo simultaneously.
From here, the ASA will receive a quotation curated to the fleet requirements, and this all happens with the push of a button. From there, the facilities manager reviews the recommendations and selects options according to budget and known planning parameters.
The benefit of the programme is wide-reaching. By scheduling regular inspections and upkeep, communities can extend the
life cycle of public toilets, reduce repair costs and ensure a safe and healthy environment for users. This well-structured program involves factory-trained, skilled and knowledgeable service partners and presents the information in an easy-to-understand format.
The regularity of the service overcomes a common complaint: unqualified in-house or sub-contracted service and unskilled maintenance crews in the operation of these buildings often do not report early warnings or vandalism events that affect the operation of the public toilet.
Budgets can be better managed, and this approach saves resources for repeat visits to diagnose or un-informed communications that ‘muddy the water.’ This significantly minimises downtime, allowing facilities to remain operational and accessible to the public.
In addition, the PMP can help prevent vandalism and graffiti by maintaining a clean and upkept appearance, deterring potential offenders.
By investing in preventative maintenance, communities can promote a culture of sustainability, efficiency and community pride, ultimately enhancing the overall quality of life for residents and visitors. Regular upkeep is key to a well- maintained facility.
Configurable design for budget flexibility
Exeloo provides prefabricated public toilets that can be adapted to suit almost any budget. Our models can be configured to meet manual toilet projects from Dry Vault programs, where the toilet operates independently from power and other services, right through to our Fully Automated, sensor-based units that create a hygienic, touchless operation environment.
Playgrounds are typically in park-like settings with significant activity during the day and early evenings. The Exeloo proprietary manual and fully automated cavity sliding doors provide a safe, bollard- free option that minimises the real estate needed to accommodate a public toilet. This becomes even more important in windy conditions where swing doors can create access difficulties for those living with disabilities.
Exeloo public toilets and our range of accessory items are manufactured from recycled and recyclable materials that are curated to provide the highest quality, resilient and functional facilities.
The modular design allows a range of configurations to match specific playground site requirements. Starting with basic public toilet buildings, our modules can be easily configured to include storage rooms for playground or sports field equipment and changing rooms to accommodate most sports teams (a recent installation at Becroft Park includes individual referee rooms).
Changing rooms need showers, and Exeloo changing rooms can include hot showers connected to electricity or gas, depending on the site specifications. All of these facilities are provided with high-quality Exeloo finishes that are warranted and supported to ensure smooth commissioning and service life.
Our prefabricated and modular designs are built under the roof of our factory, which streamlines construction and reduces the carbon footprint of construction by reducing material transport and material waste. The Exeloo design process is free of charge. The team explores creative design to partner and prioritise efficient construction that comes together to provide exciting outcomes for communities while meeting the budget objectives for playground projects.
Playgrounds and the public toilets associated with them are an important social and community asset.
By integrating CPTED principles, public toilets in playgrounds can become a valuable community resource, promoting a sense of safety and inclusivity for families, children, and visitors alike while contributing to a positive overall park experience.
Article originally published in LGNZ Magazine May 2025
