City Parks Considers Closing Drive in Santa Rita Park Due to Past Incidents

 

A movement to close Park Drive at Santa Rita Park surfaced at the Parks and Recreation Board meeting Thursday in the McNease Convention Center.

“The last few months we’ve heard of a couple incidences,” said Carl White, parks and recreation director, “a suicide and a car set on fire.”

Due to this, many in the surrounding neighborhood has asked for the drive to be closed.

Joan Mertz, President of the Greater Santa Rita Homeowner's Association, mentioned plans that the association have for future renovations to the park.

“We really think that this is a time for Santa Rita to start with the changing.” said Mertz, “We want to partner with the city on the fixing of our park.”

The proposed change is either a chain or a pipe gate to keep vehicles out, however concerns were raised as to whether or not it would inhibit the fire or police department.

“Putting that gate there would not affect or hamper our patrol of the park,” said Ed Kading, a patrolling officer of the Santa Rita Area.

He explained that the vegetation in the park is thick enough that even now without the gate they still have to leave their vehicles.

“Every now and then we will get out and walk that part anyway,” he said.

Fire Marshall Ross Coleman added the fire department’s concerns.

“We prefer a chain that everybody can agree that they [firefighters] can cut,” he said, “so long as the width can accommodate the truck.”

Coleman also explained the need for the drive at a potential later date should a fire break out, “this is one of the parks with more vegetation so we’d need to get to that place back there,” he said, adding that quick access would be the key to prevent major property damage.

Neither of the departments want a permanent closure of the drive.

No one at the meeting was against the gate, but Kading mentioned that he didn’t think it would make much a difference as far as the reasons for complaints.

“A couple of the instances have happened there in the past months, and I don’t think a gate would have prevented that,” he explained.

The motion to close the drive through the park passed unanimously, and the matter will go before City Council at a later date.

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I don't see the point in doing this and am against it. I have lived in Santa Rita most of my life and occasionally like to drive into the park.
Is Park Drive a public street, maintain by tax dollars? If so, then I don't understand how a HOA can yield their pretend power over something they have no authority on. There is obviously something more to the reason why the residents want to close a street.
It's too bad the two commenters above didn't see fit to attend either of the two Park & Rec board mtgs where this was discussed - - lots of Santa Rita residents who thought it was a good idea where there - - absolutely nobody spoke against it........funny how that works, eh?
Don, I don't live in Santa Rita, so I don't care what goes on there. I don't see the need to close a city street simply because of a couple of bad incidents. If we take that approach to handling crime, etc., we wouldn't be able to get around town because of all the closed streets.
I'm glad this wouldn't inconvenience our emergency services. I'm glad they can prevail over a chain. I'm glad that's what's important when it comes to limiting public access to a public park. I guess not being able to patrol a park the same way you've always patrolled it doesn't affect how you patrol it.. at all. I mean I drive to work everyday and if my route were to be blocked it wouldn't change the way I got to work at all. In a straw man way that makes sense. If anything it'll cause a precipitous drop in reasons to patrol the park at all. I understand the concerns of the proponents of the lock, I just don't like their pusillanimous, prohibitive - though prudent attitude. Yes I've been waiting for an opportunity to deploy pusillanimous. Are they going to put a sign on the gate saying 'now you have to take your suicide and arson elsewhere, we win!'? I hate seeing a few negatives cancel out an overwhelming majority of positives. They're keeping more good out than bad. I enjoy driving down to that park and eating lunch. If I was the type of person to play tennis I would love to drive down there and play some tennis. I spent quite a few of my formative years in that park. It was an iniquitous haven for my illicit teenage propensities. Crawling through the high grass across the water to the little overhang cave when we were car-less. Fogging up windows with breath and other stuff when we weren't. I used to play guitar down there till it was nearly stolen by some of those thuggish Santa Rita kids on their way to charge a cookie and soda to their families account at Mr. T's. It's a wonderful park, it's a wonderfully American park. What I'm saying is to see a lock on Santa Rita park is similar to taking a chisel to the the little rock formation I have holding what's left of my hope in humanity. I love that place. I don't feel like I have much of a say as someone who no longer lives in the neighborhood but it's still going to be disconcerting to drive by and see that. Matter of fact I'm going there now. To reminisce on the past and to curse the future.

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