WEST BENCH AIMS TO RECLAIM PARK

A tarnished gem on the West Bench is to get a major facelift that residents
hope will turn the park back into a place for families and push out the
potheads.

"Mariposa Park is full of druggers. It's so bad police won't even touch
them. It's all week, every night," said Don Young, who lives in Red Wing
Resorts. "It's to the point (that) neighbourhood kids are scared to go into
the park."

The 1.6-hectare park at the bottom of Vedette Drive follows the curves of a
shallow gully and boasts a tennis court surrounded by trees.

A few swings, tire obstacles, worn cement shuffleboard surface and ancient
spring horse dot the gully. There's a washroom and small, open kitchen
structure for picnics.

In recent years, what had been an oasis has become a gathering place for
youth and a criminal element.

Residents were surveyed a couple of years ago for park ideas. Their
responses clearly suggested people wanted a functional park for the young
and old.

A proposed new look for Mariposa will be on display at 7 p.m. Nov. 15 in
the library of West Bench Elementary School.

Young, a member of the West Bench parks commission, is spearheading the
three-year park revitalization.

He oversaw construction of an extensive river valley trail system in
Medicine Hat, Alta., a decade ago and says what worked there can work here.
Drug users will leave as activities are built in to attract people of all ages.

Police can spend only so much time patrolling one hangout, said Cpl. Garry
Moritz of the Penticton RCMP.

They take action when there is physical evidence and depend on the public
to tip them off to incidents as they arise.

Residents, who report increased vandalism and thefts in the neighbourhood,
attended the annual general meeting of the parks commission recently to
vent their frustration and present a petition.

Since then, the regional district director for Area F, Ruth Ann Gullen, has
been given a commitment from RCMP Insp. Dan Fudge that patrols will be
stepped up in the area.

"We want to let them (the criminal element) get the message we aren't going
to put up with this in our community," she said.

Under the plan, motion detector lights are planned for the top of existing
sheds. The parking lot will be closed to traffic until future notice, and
the park itself will be open only from dawn to dusk.

The community has set aside a minimum of $20,000 over three years to
resurface the tennis court, restore the picnic pavilion, revive a baseball
diamond and install a track along the perimeter.

Young's son, an architect, drew up a plan that includes a central
playground area with extensive seating for parents and a sloped garden with
steps and benches for the elderly to enjoy.

The eastern slope is being eyed for an innovative ground slide for kids.