Playgrounds, being a fundamental part of the childhood experience, should be safe havens for children. This handbook includes technical safety guidelines for designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining public playgrounds. It also includes a "Public Playground Safety Checklist" to highlight some of the most important safety issues for parents and community groups. The handbook covers the following topics: surfacing; use zones for equipment; layout and design of playgrounds; installation and maintenance of equipment; materials of manufacture and construction; general hazards; stairways, ladders, and handrails; platforms, guardrails, and protective barriers. Additionally, it addresses safety issues concerning major types of playground equipment: climbing equipment, merry-go-rounds, seesaws, slides, swings, spring rockers, and trampolines. Five appendices include: suggested general maintenance checklist; entrapment recommendations and test methods; characteristics of surfacing materials; a description of loose-fill surfacing materials; and noteworth revisions to the 1997 handbook. (Contains 12 references.) (GR)