The playground at Cochran Park in Edgewater is littered with dilapidated toy cars with rickety wheels, chipped plastic trucks and play-kitchen sets whose once vibrant colors have faded from the sun.
But the children who toddle around the slides and swings don’t see the imperfections in these abandoned objects. They eagerly flock to the toys, spoiled by options. The scene is repeated across the city at several parks which have become “Islands of Misfit Toys.”
That could all change as the Chicago Park District recently began removing the toys from playgrounds, enforcing a decades-old policy that prohibits toys and other materials from being left behind at parks.
The move has disappointed some parents whose children enjoy playing with the old toys, and has left them confused as to why the Park District would eliminate one of the factors that attracts families to those playgrounds.
“They’re pretty great to have around. It would be disappointing if they took them for sure,” said Ryan Swanson, 44, early last month as he watched his 5-year-old daughter Sage play at Cochran Park.
Swanson, whose family has visited Cochran for years, said the toys are valuable, especially to toddlers who may be too small to enjoy the slides and swings.
“You take those [toys] away and you’re basically making it so toddlers can’t use the playground anymore,” he said.
The toys are left behind by families whose own children have outgrown them in the hopes they can bring joy to others rather than throwing the toys in a dumpster. It’s a practice that has gone on for years, according to several parents.
In late May, the Park District began posting temporary signage at playgrounds with these toys advising visitors that abandoned objects would be cleaned up starting in June, according to a spokesperson for the district.
“Per the Chicago Park District Code, toys or any other materials should not be left behind at Chicago Park District playgrounds,” the spokesperson said, adding that the provision has been part of Park District code since at least 1992.
Crews started picking up toys at some parks on June 17.
The spokesperson said the recent signage went up because the Park District has received “reports of instances of vandalism involving toys and other items that have been left unattended in parks.”
The Park District plans to replace all current playground signs at parks in the city with new ones that include the policy, the spokesperson said. Landscape crews have added toy removal to their weekly routine maintenance checklist.
Drew Stanley — father to 15-month-old George — said he understands why the Park District might want to remove abandoned toys, as they can get dirty and could be a vector for mosquitoes when it rains.
But the 33-year-old thinks their removal would be a loss for the park.
“It is nice for toddlers like him because he can’t really play on all this stuff,” Stanley said, pointing to the monkey bars and other installations at Cochran as he carried his son. “For the little ones, its nice to have them around because it gives them something to do.”
Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th), whose ward includes Cochran, said she supports the park district’s mission to provide clean spaces for families and encouraged residents to donate old toys to local organizations.
“The mission of Parks is to provide safe, inviting and beautifully maintained parks and facilities,” Manaa-Hoppenworth said in a statement. “I support this mission and encourage families to donate their unused toys to mutual aid or charitable organizations such as Care for Real or Centro Romero.”
On the South Side, visitors at Bixler Park in Hyde Park echoed the thoughts of their North Side counterparts. Old toys are strewn across the sandbox at Bixler and are drenched under the water installation there.
Gabriela Wheeler Fox, 27, said the park is her 3-year-old Brayden’s favorite, in part because of all the toys. She said that though some of the toys are in bad shape, parents do a good job of clearing them by themselves.
“The ones that are really broken eventually someone will haul them out to the curb,” she said as Brayden rode around on a faded blue tricycle at Bixler last week. “We all laugh at how broken they are, but the kids still enjoy them. If something is dangerous or sharp, we’ll throw it away.”
Fox — who said she visits the park multiple times per week — said the removal of the toys may change that.
“We’d still come but maybe not as often,” she said. “I think it would be less fun for him.”
Not everyone is unhappy with the Park District’s move.
In early June, a parent posted on the Nextdoor app that his son had broken his leg after being hit by another child riding down a hill in an abandoned toy car at Margaret Donahue Park in Lake View.
The parent was frustrated that the toys there had not been removed by the Park District yet.
Alex D., who said she visits Bixler with her toddler, said the parents should be able to decide whether the toys are a hazard for their children.
She said the Park District should instead focus on other concerns at the parks.
“The biggest issue here is that there is no trash can here and there is no bathroom nearby,” she said at Bixler. “Those are kind of the bigger issues.”