Parking at Pineway Ponds Park raises concerns

Imagine waking up every day to the serene beauty of your secluded yard nestled inside a beautiful public park. You take your first cup of coffee onto your deck and listen to the birds sing, watch small wildlife graze nearby, and enjoy a warm summer morning. Sound ideal?

Now imagine waking up in that same park, but rather than the blissful sounds of nature you wake to the noise of a hundred small soccer players pounding up and down the field. Rather than birds singing, you hear instead coaches yelling at the top of their lungs, and parents cheering or coaching their tiny athletes. This is the reality for Laurie Curts, the woman who lives in the only house still located within Pineway Ponds Park in Ogden.

But it isn't the sports noises that frustrate or offend Curts. "I love sports, I grew up playing sports." Even the 8 a.m. wake up call courtesy of the Ogden Bears Football team doesn't phase her. What does bother her, however, is the lack of respect shown to her property by visitors to the park. "People park right across my front lawn. They dig deep ruts into the grass sometimes. I've had people park in my driveway and then argue with me when I've asked them to please move. I've even had people urinate in my bushes," Curts said.

Frustration with trying to deal with the parking violators and constant damage to her property prompted her to send an email to Ogden Parks and Recreation Director, Eric Bacon and to Town Supervisor, Gay Lenhard. In response, Bacon visited Curts at her home to assess the situation and try to work out a solution. He says it's inexcusable that people don't respect her property. Both agree on the reason behind the parking situation. "It isn't that there isn't ample parking, because there is. The problem is laziness. People simply do not want to park in the parking area and walk back to watch the game," Curts said, and Bacon agreed.

Curts also thinks maybe the fields are overused and that cutting back on some of the sports activities, especially when they overlap, would help the parking situation. Bacon doesn't agree. "We would be doing the town residents a disservice if we didn't use the park to its fullest capacity. Sports programs right now are at an all time high in popularity, but it's not unmanageable."

As a first step to try to resolve the problem, Bacon has asked the town to post several permanent signs in front of Curts' home advising people it is illegal to park there. Violators will receive tickets. The Ogden Police Department patrols the park and Curts calls them when she has to for the parking issue.

Curts has lived in the park since purchasing the house in 1989 from her aunt. She has raised her son there and loves the setting. She is a watchdog for the park after hours and alerts the police of any vandalism or activities that shouldn't be happening. This is appreciated by Lenhard. "She's a great neighbor and she watches out for the park. We want to be responsive to her concerns and do what we can to ease the situation."

Lenhard and Curts also share a concern for the safety of the children playing the park. Children dart in between the parked cars into the road. They can't see or be seen by oncoming traffic. "You just know it's going to happen and I hope I don't witness some child getting hit. That's an image that will live with you forever," Curts says. She also says she has watched the ambulance struggle to get up the road in between all the congestion to get to the field where a child was injured.

Bacon said he has talked with the soccer coaches and will be speaking with the football coaches as well concerning the parking issue. He has asked them to stress to parents the importance of obeying the parking rules.

Curts would like to see the front field moved to a space further back in the park that is open. While Bacon said the idea will be considered, it's simply not feasible at any point in the near future.

Curts says she isn't trying to spoil any of the pleasure the park brings to all the residents of the community. "I just want people to respect my property." She thinks any homeowner would feel the same way.