Letter to the Editor - Fischer: ‘I will be voting for the original project’
Like many of you I’ve listened to and read the information and opinions that have come forward regarding the Aspen Park second entrance project and the alternate project proposed by the city council and Mayor. As a result, I will be voting for the original project to provide the second entrance from Ironwood Street and
hopefully many of you will as well.
Smooth parking lots are a nice thing to have, but they are a want and not a need. The second entrance has been a need for a very long time. Widening the existing entrance road seems like it will only move vehicle traffic to the “bottleneck” at the existing entrance faster, potentially making the congestion problem even worse. The addition of another lane to either turn left or go straight when
leaving the park might help a little but when the next flight of games is coming to the park as the first flight is leaving the constant flow of traffic coming off Aspen and turning left into the park makes either of these options almost impossible.
Some may feel the congestion is just a minor inconvenience but when Police, Fire, or EMS are needed it can become a much more serious issue. During severe weather warnings it also makes sense to provide for adequate traffic flow. I’ve heard from some council members that a warning flag system such as that is used at the Levitt in Sioux Falls to warn concert attendees of severe weather might be used at the ballfields allowing more time for people to exit the park. However, at the Levitt there is one audience all watching one performance so everyone sees the flag when it’s put up and hears the announcement. At Aspen, each field
is a separate “show” with a separate audience. How many flags are needed? Who puts them up, and most of all, what is the criteria for when to put them up?
There’s also the issue of the property owners along the route and the estimated amount of the assessments being too high. There is an appeal process in place for these kinds of circumstances. I’m guessing the Mayor and council members have made the property owners aware of the process available to them. Let’s use it and
work with them to find a fair resolution.
Finally, we have a volunteer park board that gives their time to serve the community. They are all very talented and dedicated people and they voted unanimously to go forward with the second entrance. They and our city park staff spend more time than anyone researching and vetting the needs of our city regarding parks and recreation. Let’s support their efforts as a community.
Dave Fischer
Brandon
