KEEP HOOPS, WORK ON BIGGER PROBLEM

This letter is in response to the Aug. 25 story ("Basketball court trouble
spurs call for removal") about the neighborhood woes surrounding Glen Armil
Park in Davenport. I can see the park from my front door, and I would like
to say "thanks" to those who contributed to the story for making our
beautiful, quiet neighborhood sound like a crime-ridden, drug-infested
juvenile hangout.

At recent Neighborhood Watch meetings, my neighbors and I conveyed our
concerns and proposals.

Keep in mind, many of those 86 (police) calls from January until now were
as simple as neighbor kids taking a shortcut home by walking through the
park after dark. ... Even if we saw the statistics from other parks and
their police calls, which we did not, it is more like comparing apples to
oranges because of the park location, isn't it?

In the minds of some, the only solution is to take away the basketball
court entirely. I disagree! I do agree with those quoted who said it is
unfair to penalize the neighborhood kids because of these incidents. They
(incidents) are more the exception than the rule; if they were not, the
Davenport Police would surely be more concerned.

The majority of those who propose the removal as the only solution probably
do not have school-age children, like myself, who use the park on a daily
basis. It is interesting that the old, outdated wood playground equipment
there that splinters my son's hands is not a priority and will not be
replaced for three years, yet the one-hoop basketball court makes the
front-page headline. My family would not live near or utilize the park if I
felt imminent danger existed there.

This is not to say that problems do not exist there. ... What they do there
is everyone's concern, and that is my point.

Let's look at solving the bigger problem, the allegation that drug use is
taking place there. The park is within a six-block radius of three schools,
two of which house pre-schoolers.

The "Drug-Free Zone" sign is posted 20 feet high on a telephone pole; how
effective is that?

Instead of writing off the means for free, accessible activities in our
park, our neighbors should expend their energies on keeping it as is, while
keeping it safe.

Other solutions could include a speed bump to discourage speeding, or
motion/sensor lights for better visibility for both neighbors and the
police. Also, better signage, such as a more visible "Drug-Free Zone" sign
with a school-zone fine amount posted, as well as trimming back trees so
the existing speed limit signs can actually be seen; perhaps even the
addition of more speed limit signs.

Another measure could be speed traps or even speed monitor signs. Short
stints with these could yield quick results.

Most importantly, let's not send a message to those abusing our parks that
it will be tolerated. We know that kids who cannot release their energy in
a positive way will only find destructive pastimes.

Please don't punish our own neighborhood kids because of this situation; we
live in a good, solid community and pass a strong message on to our kids
that we care about it as well as them.

I encourage my other neighbors to add input so we can resolve this in a
feasible way, not just the way of the very few who speak the loudest.