You would expect the problem of urination in the playground to be one caused by the toddlers who play in it, but in Raukawa it's the toilet habits of passing cyclists that have parents squirming. The toddlers' playground at the Raukawa Community Hall has somehow become the place to pee forthe lycra-clad cyclists who stop for a rest. ``I understand the call of nature and sometimes you get stuck and have to go, but you don't need to do it in a kids' playground,'' mum Keryn Whitney said. The volunteers who maintain the hall and its grounds leave the water on so the passing cyclists can help themselves to a drink from the tap. But lately the stopping cyclists had been walking around the hall and urinating in the closed-off playground. ``We've caught some of them in the act, midstream,'' Mrs Whitney said. But the issue had stopped being funny and those who had fundraised for the new kids' area were worried. ``We've got kids who are crawling in there,'' Mrs Whitney said. ``I've got a 2-year-old and everything goes in his mouth. We cringe, it's just disgusting.'' The parents were baffled about why the culprits didn't take a short walk to one of the nearby paddocks to do their business. ``They could just go in the paddock next door and it wouldn't bother anybody,'' Mrs Whitney said. ``Our playground isn't a urinal.''
