Controversial Bounce Houses: Conversation Continues

Holle Humphreys, a resident of the 3000 block of 26th Street, compiled and submitted a detailed report including more than 200 slides in a multi-media photo documentary power point presentation to the City of Lubbock illustrating the effects of bounce houses on Wagner Park. UNIT News requested a copy and received the following.  Only some of the more than two dozen photos forwarded to UNIT News are included in this summary due to band-width constraints.  The TT/UNIT Neighborhood Association Aesthetics Committee has worked with vendors, city council and residents to encourage appropriate alternative bounce house set-up sites.


It has been noted that the following numbers of Bounce Houses have been dropped into Wagner Park in the past two years:

2008:   2
2009: 19
2010:  8 
2011:  6 (thus far) 

2009:  Wagner Park was reduced to large areas of barren dirt by the end of  September 2009.  This was due primarily to the complete disruption to its underground irrigation system.  The damage appeared to be in large part caused by Bounce House structures repeatedly hauled into and out of the park and perpetually sited in the park for up to 12 hours at a time, as well as by people driving unauthorized vehicles onto park grounds to haul in ancillary equipment such as BBQ cookers, cabanas, coolers, tables, chairs, and other supplies, in order to augment Bounce House parties.

2010: The effective reduction in number for Bounce Houses that year was due to the efforts of the Tech Terrace UNIT NA's Aesthetic Committee, under the leadership of Helen Liggett, to seek Councilman Todd Klein's assistance in communicating with Bounce House vendors to request that they seek venues other than Wagner Park for conducting their commercial activity.  This action was taken owing to the damage in Wagner Park observed the year before that had been caused by the vinyl structures, themselves, the tracks and rutted grass they left behind, the stakes pounded into the ground to anchor them, and all the extra traffic accompanying them, to include Bounce House vendors and party sponsors who drove over grass and grounds to haul in equipment.  Ultimately, this commercial activity in Wagner Park contributed to damage to below-ground irrigation systems and sprinkler heads, leaving the park's grass and grounds with little to no resources of water to ensure sustainability. 

Legitimate Bounce House vendors for the most part complied with this request.  

However, photo documentation conducted throughout 2010 revealed that there were several "mom and pop shop" independent Bounce House continuing to conduct commercial activity in Wagner Park.  Research suggested that they more than likely were not registered with the city as legitimate businesses, and it was observed that none adhered to city codes and ordinances.    

In so doing, these individuals contributed to the over 185+ trips taken by unauthorized vehicles driving over Wagner Park grounds in violation of city ordinances last summer alone.  This collectively contributed to the persistent problem of excessive wear and tear on grass and grounds, and caused damage once again to the park'sirrigation system.   Parks and Recreation irrigation crews worked for two full weeks in January 2011 to rectify the damage caused in 2010. 

2011: Already as of April 24, 2011, 6 Bounce Houses have been sited in Wagner Park.  This is of concern, because the Parks and Recreation irrigation crews have been to Wagner Park five times already this year in the effort to repair the irrigation system and get it functioning effectively.  However, their ongoing good efforts are being stymied by repeated placement of Bounce Houses once again in Wagner Park, as well as by people who continue to drive unauthorized vehicles on Wagner Park grass and grounds.  

By way of example:  On February 26, 2011, two Bounce Houses were sited east of the pavilion of Wagner Park.  When they were pulled out, photographs were taken to document the damage they had caused to fragile dry winter grass.  They left ruts cut into the grass, and caused damage to the sprinkler head beneath them that had just been repaired on January 2011, and which was now leaking upon their departure.  

Therefore, it seemed urgent to turn in a report to the City to seek relief of some sort from the onslaught of Bounce House vendors that seemed destined to return again to site their commercial activity in a small neighborhood park that is ill-equipped to withstand the load of Bounce Houses placed on its grass and grounds, over and over again.  That is why a report was compiled and turned it into city officials to bring this situation to their attention.

In summary, from 2008 to 2011, Bounce House activity has been observed to cause the following damage due to their repeated placement in Wagner Park:

Consequences of Bounce Houses and Bounce House activity in Wagner Park: 
The park's natural environment is compromised and damaged due to:

•Weight: of Bounce House structures, which exerts --
•Compression: on grass, tree roots, irrigation systems
•Suffocation of grass due to oxygen depletion
•Friction: caused by up/down jumping; buffeting by winds
•Heat: 4 -12 hours in one spot on summer days w/ 90+ temperatures scorches grass
•Scorching: to grass also is caused by hot engines and engine stands when on the ground
•Perforation: stakes driven to anchor BH’s into ground damage irrigation lines
•Transport: via vehicles and dollies driving/being hauled onto grass/grounds to take them into and out of the park
•Nuisance Noise: caused by Bounce House engines, which disrupt the natural environment provided by a green space neighborhood park, reducing it to the auditory equivalent of an industrial zone

One only has to compare the green grass of Tech Terrace Park to the yellowed grass of Wagner Park to perceive that Wagner Park experiences the challenges of withstanding a heavy load in terms of use; and therefore any additional strain -- such as Bounce Houses placed on its grass and grounds over and over again -- will only make things worse.

People who want to sponsor Bounce House parties would be well advised to consider not scheduling them for Wagner Park or Tech Terrace Park.  Otherwise, they will contribute to the damage of one of the very things we all value most about the Tech Terrace neighborhood: its green space natural parks.