A picture is worth 1,000 words: Protect the children

A playground in Fairfax, Va., has been deemed "too dangerous" for children by school officials after community volunteers purchased and provided the equipment and hired a contractor to construct it. But now it's covered with police tape and off-limits:

(Images: WaPo)

Behind the yellow caution tape fettering the apparatus is what parents describe as reams of bureaucratic red tape threatening the equipment, which was built with $35,000 from countless Parent Teacher Association silent auctions and bake sales. ...

While parents say the kids just want to have fun, officials say the school system wants to avoid potential lawsuits should a child be injured on the equipment. According to statistics from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 200,000 children visit emergency rooms annually after playground accidents.

So instead of allowing kids to play on the $35,000 playground equipment that's been constructed and paid for, the county government has offered to tear down the structure and replace it -- using $135,000 in taxpayer money.

Yep, make total sense.

h/t Ed Morrissey