Bollard bike racks installed at the Westfield Century City Mall in Los Angeles, CA

Bollard bike racks continue to gain in popularity with municipalities and retailers because of the dual purpose they provide.

One purpose is obviously for bicycle parking. These hardy metal outdoor bike racks are perfect for the outdoors.

When it comes to weather-resistant finishes, several options are available.

Managers can choose a galvanized, hot-dipped finish that keeps the steel free from rust and corrosion.

Another option is for a powder-coated finish, which gives the bollard bike racks a bright, durable appearance. The powder-coating is applied electrostatically and adheres to the metal surface to protect against rust and corrosion.

A big advantage of powder-coating is that these outdoor bike racks can be ordered in a variety of vibrant colors. Choose from deep red, orange, blue, hunter green, wine red and many other colors. Even custom colors are available if desired.

The third option is for a

Students sit in the shade of commercial umbrellas at metal picnic tables in the Student Courtyard

The Park and Facilities Catalog recently supplied the famous McFarland High School with an array of attractive metal picnic tables and commercial umbrellas.

Why is McFarland HS famous?

For one, the school, located in central California, is a powerhouse when it comes to the sport of cross-country running.

The team has won 24 CIF Central Section championships - in a row.

Secondly, the school and runners were featured in the famous Walt Disney movie - "McFarland USA" that starred Kevin Costner as the coach.

McFarland High School recently added a large supply of metal picnic tables and umbrellas from The Park and Facilities Catalog.

These outdoor picnic tables were placed in the Student Courtyard where students can easily gather for meals and to mingle.

"We are very happy with the tables and umbrellas we purchased," said Kristin Jimenez, from the McFarland Unified School District.

Metal

Volunteer Kim Taber stands with a three hoop jump and fire hydrant dog hurdle. This new dog playground equipment is a new addition to the Florida Humane Society building in Pompano Beach

Dog playground equipment to enable our canine friends to exercise and have fun is now a new addition to the Florida Humane Society.

The Park and Facilities Catalog recently supplied a three-jump hoop and fire hydrant dog hurdle to this non-profit organization that provides a loving and safe home for dogs and cats in South Florida.

The Florida Humane Society started in 1993 and has grown to the point where it now helps almost 3,000 dogs and cats find "good and loving" homes every year.

To control the population of unwanted pets, the organization also offers a service to spay and neuter dogs and cats. This vital program treats 3,500 animals each year.

"We are dedicated to saving the lives of unwanted companion pets through adoption as well as aggressively striving to reduce the pet population through spay

Metal picnic tables at the Nambe' Falls and Lake recreation area. This natural waterfall is one of the most popular destinations in New Mexico

Metal picnic tables and metal benches were recently supplied by The Park and Facilities Catalog to the landscape at the incredible Nambe' Waterfalls and Lake park - a beautiful and serene setting of woods and water.

The Pueblo of Nambe' is the location of one of the most interesting and popular waterfalls in all of the southwest. This spectacular setting is located at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in New Mexico as part of nearly 20,000 acres of high desert. Quite an interesting place to find such a vibrant waterfall.

Nambe' Falls, one of the most popular sights in New Mexico's high desert

The Nambe' area is one of six Tewa-speaking communities in the northern part of the state.

In 1976, a dam was built above the falls to supply irrigation water to the Pojoaque Valley, which created the Nambe' Falls and Lake Recreation Area. That area

Low-rise 3 and 4-row aluminum bleachers

The addition of low-rise 3 and 4-row bleachers can be the perfect seating option for your field or complex.

Without blowing your budget, low-rise aluminum bleachers are the most economical option that will still meet all building and safety codes while providing a quality, safe place for spectators to enjoy the action whether it's in your gym or from the sidelines of your field.

Low-rise bleachers are the recommended seating solution for many types of venues, most notably for limited space gyms or the more intimate outdoor venues like those commonly found at recreation centers or divided, multi-use community complexes, jointly used for team sports like soccer, baseball, and softball.

But 3 or 4-row low-rise bleachers can also fill an extra seating need should you find yourself dealing with an unused, smaller space that can't be fitted with standard aluminum bleachers.

Low-rise 3 and 4-row bleachers fit unique challenges of small spaces

When space

Outdoor bleachers like the ones pictured above are placed along the red carpet at the Oscars every year. But getting this close-up view of all those celebs is not an easy task

Gaining a seat on these coveted outdoor bleachers is one of the most difficult tasks in the world. There are only about 700 available.

But if you do, your face may be seen by more than 40 million people.

And ironically, once the big event involving these bleachers begins, the seats empty out.

What are we talking about?

The Academy Awards and the outdoor bleachers stationed along the Most Popular Red Carpet on the planet.

It is on these plain aluminum bleacher seats that spectators get to see the glitz and glitter of the biggest night in show business.

It's the ultimate place to be for celebrity worship.

In no other location will you see this many Hollywood big-wigs gathered at one time.

The night consists of a blizzard of flashbulbs, TV reporters, expensive dresses, swanky tuxedos, polished smiles and lots of screaming

Adding amenities to your aluminum bleachers such as aluminum scorer's tables, players benches and picnic tables creates a more organized impression of your sports complex

By installing additional amenities along with your aluminum bleachers, you can complete the layout of your sports complex and give your playing field a clean, organized, and professional look.

This will make it more user-friendly and consistent from all viewpoints, including the players, coaching staff, officials, and even the spectators.

And just like aluminum bleachers themselves, these amenities are high quality, long lasting, and easy to care for and use.

They'll withstand all the same weather and repeated use challenges as standard aluminum bleachers, and help make your field safer, more usable, and more comfortable for everyone involved.

Aluminum bleacher amenities range from items designed for a more specific use to those designed for use by the general public.

In addition, all of these aluminum products are designed

Curved concrete benches at the Herbert Kurz Peace Garden installed at Rockland Community College

A unique "peace garden" featuring curved concrete benches supplied by The Park and Facilities Catalog was recently installed at Rockland Community College in New York State.

This creative landscape called the Herbert Kurz Peace Garden is a gift donated to the college by the Kurz Family Foundation. That foundation was created by Howard Kurz, founder of the Nyack-based Presidential Life Insurance Company and a lifelong philanthropist and humanitarian.

The garden was designed by Elisabeth Voigt in collaboration with architect Jeffrey Hall. It consists of 42 curved benches that create an outdoor seating arrangement that flows throughout the grounds. The area was also decorated with 26 flowering dogwood trees and native plant species.

A series of fountain bowls provide a central focal point that adds to the overall tranquility of the area.

"Everybody loves it," Hall said. "It's a statement

Facts about city park

America has a collection of extremely interesting city parks. There are so many parks that earn some sort of recognition as the either the Oldest, Most Visited, Largest, etc.

There are also a bunch of specialty categories for city parks with great amenities - basketball hoops, pools. Even pickleball courts and disc golf courses.

If you like parks (and who doesn't) here are facts you might find interesting. These are bits of a larger report compiled by The Trust for Public Lands in their 2017 City Parks Facts Report.

Oldest and busiest city parks

Let's start with the parks that have been around the longest. Imagine sitting on a park bench in Boston 384 years ago?

Oldest City Parks City Year Established Boston Common Boston 1634 Military Park Newark 1667 Washington Park Newark 1669 Frankin/Washington Squares Philadelphia 1682 Jackson Square New Orleans 1721 San Pedro Springs Park San Antonio 1729 Main Plaza San Antonio 1731 Bowling Green New York City 1733 Columbus/Pittman

More towns are implementing Adopt-A-Park programs to keep their parks clean and foster more involvement by local citizen

What's one way to keep your local park clean and help out your community with just a few hours a month's efforts?

What about this idea?  Adopt-a-park.

More and more parks and recreation departments are implementing the benefits of Adopt-A-Park programs.

The concept is a simple one.

1. Allow groups to organize and focus on cleaning or "adopting" one park or a section of a park in town.

2. Provide them with some simple materials - gloves, trash bags, rakes, trash receptacles, etc.

3. Give them some direction, eg, "Please focus on cleaning up this area over here. We've had quite a few birthday parties recently and there is trash strewn all around the picnic tables."

4. Reward the group with a nice sign acknowledging their efforts.

Hundreds of towns across America are promoting this Adopt-A-Park concept.

Participation in Palm Beach County program growing steadily

In Florida,

Jose Grosfeld, kennel technician and Leighan Vinciguerra, administrative manager, stand next to dog park equipment donated by The Park and Facilities Catalog to Big Dog Ranch Rescue

The Park and Facilities Catalog recently donated several pieces of  dog park equipment to Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Loxahatchee. Fl.

Their motto is "Big and small, we save them all."

 The spacious facility is truly an outstanding place for dogs. Since it started 10 years ago as Florida Weimaraner Rescue by local resident Lauree Simmons, and later expanded to help all breeds, the non-profit has rescued more than 19,000 of our furry friends.

In fact, Big Dog Ranch Rescue is the largest no-kill, cage-free dog rescue facility in the Southeast.

On a daily basis, the organization rescues dogs from shelters, unwanted litters or people who can no longer take care of their pets.

The group has also gained recognition for helping to rescue dogs from hurricane-damaged areas in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.

According

A catered meal on a picnic table or a blanket in a favorite park is the newest trend to hit major metro areas

Catering has become a popular concept for corporate events, graduation parties, family reunions - and now you can order a catered meal on a picnic table or a blanket in your favorite park.

Catered picnic services are popping up in some of the most iconic parks and cities across the world.

You can enjoy a gourmet meal packed on a picnic table with all the essentials delivered to a spot of your choosing in locations such as Central Park in New York City, London, Paris, and Sydney, Australia.

Gourmet food delivered to you in some of the most beautiful locations in the world isn't cheap though - most catered picnic services charge a premium for the convenience and charm of having a hand-delivered picnic.

The convenience is worth the cost, though. In many instances, the picnic will be brought to you in your chosen spot complete with everything you need for the meal. And when you're done,

Clever strategies to keep those trash receptacles filled

According to Keep America Beautiful, one of the bad aspects of litter is that it encourages more people to litter. Researchers from KAB observed that if people see garbage scattered around public or commercial trash cans, they tend to drop their litter on the ground nearby.

This is why it is imperative that cities mount aggressive and clever anti-litter campaigns and provide more trash receptacles for people to get rid of their trash. Several cities as indicated in the infographic above have instituted innovative anti-litter programs that have had very positive results.

Toronto public officials gave people a big jolt when they saw negative words spelled out with garbage. In Hong Kong, municipal officials claimed they could track down litter-bugs through the use of DNA (not true). But it did catch the attention of the local populace and made them think twice about littering.

Another good idea is to tap into the artistic community

Here's an idea. Try visiting parks later in the day and enjoy quiet time dining on picnic tables in front of an awesome sunset

Who says you can only enjoy meals on picnic tables in a park from 10 a.m. to 4 pm?

If you think about it, there are several reasons why other times can be just right for a picnic at your favorite park!

While picnic tables are usually filled with food and festivities during early hours, a picnic at dusk can be the perfect time to enjoy the peace and quiet of nature while enjoying your favorite meal al fresco.

So before you make plans to fill those picnic tables at high noon, consider these three reasons to host an evening picnic for two or twenty later in the day - and some tips to make it fun for everyone!

Picnic tables are more available

If you need a little more motivation to actually pack up your car and head to the park as the sun is setting, think about these three reasons why an evening picnic is a great idea:

Fewer people. Peak park hours tend to mean crowded

Elevated aluminum bleachers provide better "sightlines" for spectators to see the field of play

One of the most important factors to consider when ordering aluminum bleachers is a term referred to as "sightlines."

The word is bleacher industry jargon that refers to a spectator's ability to view the action on the playing field without obstructions. Those sightlines might be the ability to see over the person seated in front of them or spectators walking back and forth in front of the bleachers.

As you know, not everybody sits still during a sporting event, especially a school sporting event. Restless teenagers walk up and down the aisles, stroll back and forth in front of the bleachers, hang out in back of the stands and then repeat those steps during every time out and halftime.

There is actually an algorithm for sightlines in aluminum bleachers. The vertical distance from someone's eyes seated in the stands is called the C-Value. Factors that go into the formula include D- the horizontal