Removed wayspot appeal

Hello, this wayspot was removed from the game the other day. I’d like NIA to take a look and possibly bring it back.

  • Wayspot Title: The Green Playground

  • Location (lat/lon): Approximate coordinates: 42.66131554322599, 23.282632224519578

  • Street address - 84 Ralevitsa str. , zip 1618, Manastirski Livadi district.

  • City: Sofia

  • Country: Bulgaria

  • Screenshot (wayspot key in Ingress):

  • Additional Information:
    This is a small garden&playground (as the title of the wayspot says) where you can use swings, slides, benches, football goals, basketball hoops and even a trampoline. Kids and parents play some football, dodgeball, basketball and other sports and social/fun games there. It’s green most time of the year and very good for relaxation and socializing. You can often see a dozen kids have a match or play hide and seek in the evenings. Its one of the few playgrounds in the area, and the only one that is with actual grass all over it. A great spot for the local community, matching the latest wayspot criteria (be able to exercise, socialise and have fun). A great deal of Pokemon and Ingress players use this wayspot on a daily basis and not just by passing by, but actually staying there for a while.

Here is a satellite photo where you can see the field in the middle used to play football etc. and the swings, trampoline, benches etc. It’s accessible from all sides as well and you can play the wayspot from the street if you don’t want/need to go play in the actual playground.

Here is a current photo after some cleaning activities from the other day (after the snow melted). Still green as the sun always shines on top of it from the different sides.

Thanks and let me know whether other information is required to review the decision that has been made to remove this wayspot. I can provide more photos if necessary.

I may be looking at this the wrong way, but these look like temporary objects that can be moved or replaced quite easily. Can you confirm that these playground equipment are definitely permanent?

1 Like

Hey, thanks for the comment. I would probably ask the same question. The space (the field/playground) is the actual wayspot, but yes, these items are always there and been for years. If something gets broken, it is being replaced by a new one. Sometimes the items are gathered at a specific spot so the field can be cleaned, some new grass put etc. Like it is currently after the snow and minus 10 celcius temperatures we had in the past weeks. But, again, the trampoline, football goals etc. are not the actual wayspot. It’s the space altogether as per the new criteria that NIA have. A place where you can socialize and play sports. This is exactly it for all the neighbouring residential buildings.

Hi! I live in Sofia too. There aren’t many “cool” landmarks to make as pokestops, so I see a lot of similarly looking playgrounds when I play.

Yours seems pretty standard - I think the locals living surrounding the playground start outfitting it and then the municipality might provide in later time better quality ones (eg metal structures that look more permanent). That doesn’t mean it’s temporary, just that it’s the best current quality parents could provide. There are a lot of playgrounds in each neighborhood and they are usually at the center of a cluster of buildings - so that parents can meet while their kids play. If the kids are smaller, you might see these type, but as they grow they might add “toys” that are more age appropriate for them.

The swing is permanent - if it wasn’t, the steel frame wouldn’t be stable enough on its own. It looks like it’s buried in the ground and possibly strengthened by concrete poured into the holes. This type of swing would start “walking” on its own if it wasn’t for the ground (and possibly concrete).

What the object is made of is irrelevant. It’s a case of can it be moved easily without removing the fixtures. So if the Swing is permanently fixed to the ground, there is an argument that it should be restored.

:slight_smile: Don’t want to cause people arguing for this. But anyway, yeah, there is a concrete base under these swings. They are permanent. Benches too, plus there will be some new infrastructure in place in the spring. It’s an old wayspot and is always taken care of to keep it in good shape for the people in the area. Thank you all for jumping in and making comments.

I don’t think we’re arguing - I’m just familiar with this type of swing (I think everyone in central/eastern Europe is) and wanted to make sure that people know it’s not something that can be moved easily (unless it’s entirely rusted through and is a safety hazard, which doesn’t seem to be the case here).

Got it, thanks for the support.

Thanks for the appeal, @fringere We have taken another look but stand by our decision to retire this Wayspot.

Hi, thanks for the effort. Is there any reason for this? Any criteria which are not met? Would be good to know the standards used as there are many worse looking, smaller and abandoned playgrounds around the city but they keep standing, no matter how many times they are being reported. Something doesn’t feel right here :frowning: