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Post by alaskarambo on Nov 13, 2010 23:39:51 GMT -9
I am in the ball park area off Elmore frequently. I don't know the correct Name of the part. Its the huge 'new' one off elmore with ball fields a regular field and the giant log picnic structure.
When I came back by there tonight they had closed the gates! The gates are NEVER closed.....plus, Team Meister attempted to go in before 8 oclock and the new winter park host attempted to shut him out.
I didnt think they could close this till 11 pm if at all. Can someone on Geo Ak look into it? You guys handle land use issues so I am hoping you know who to call what to say etc. I know many cachers, skiers, hikers etc enter from this side especially in the winter in the later evening. There is a couple night caches back there too and it doesnt make sense to shut the area down because the park host can't pick up a phone and dial for police assistance when he notices "shenanigans" going on.
See my cache and Team Meisters FTF log for his re-telling of the issue: GC2J76Z
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Post by NorthWes on Nov 14, 2010 8:33:24 GMT -9
I'll see if I can get an answer from Muni Parks & Rec on Monday as to the expected gate hours at Abbott Loop Community Park (the city's name for that facility). There's usually a sign affixed to the gate structure somewhere which 'warns' folks about when the gate's going to be locked to help users avoid the hassle of getting locked in. That's a popular trailhead for accessing the BLM Campbell Tract trails from their SW corner, and for accessing the Tour of Anchorage / Homestead Trail running north from Service HS downhill to a trail intersection just a few hundred yards into those woods.
It's left to the Parks & Rec area managers to determine individual park hours of availability. The decision is made based on usage patterns - and unfortunately this city's full of creeps who like to damage parks during late-night parties and stopovers - which leads to earlier gate closures during winter hours. The wide variety of user groups at this particular park means there's usually someone around all through the summer, but usage of the developed facilities falls off in the winter and it becomes just another winter access trailhead.
This particular park has suffered tens of thousands of dollars in damage since its construction, which is why the Parks managers have worked to establish a 'Park Host' to keep an eye on its structures. It's the same situation as has occurred out at the Jodhpur Trailhead/entrance to Kincaid Park on its SE corner, where vandals altered the landscape with off-roading, paintballing, and fires. The off-roading tore up protected landscapes, the paintballers brought in pallets to use as 'fight structures', and others came along and built huge bonfires with the pallets (fires which were left unattended in the midst of a relatively dry first-growth forest, in Kincaid's instance). It's an ugly problem, and we benign users reap the bitter harvest of the creeps who destroy rather than simply enjoy the parks. And - we cachers know first-hand how bad the trash problem can be as we practice CITO while cruising city parks in search of those newly-published caches!
I strongly encourage anyone seeing illegal activities in the city parks to call the non-emergency dispatcher number at Anchorage Police Dept - 786-8900 - and report it. We're the Parks' first line of defense against abuse!
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Post by alaskarambo on Nov 14, 2010 10:32:00 GMT -9
Thanks NorthWes I appreciate your assistance. It is sad that the jerks make it tough for everyone else to enjoy the fun stuff in our own backyard )c:
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Post by NorthWes on Nov 19, 2010 15:58:19 GMT -9
Thanks NorthWes I appreciate your assistance. It is sad that the jerks make it tough for everyone else to enjoy the fun stuff in our own backyard )c: Had a nice face to face chat with Parks & Rec folks at the Hill Bldg today. We talked geocaching, we talked what a large user group geocachers have become, we talked how nice it is to have Park Hosts, we talked about Park Host responsibilities... Here's the details for Abbott Loop Community Park: Normal park hours of use continue as 6am to 11pm. As necessary, when the Park Host feels the situation at hand warrants it, the park may close early at Host discretion. This is done to forestall vandalism or stop 'inappropriate' park use immediately. It's not done because the park host 'feels like it' or wants an early night. Of course, if the gate gets closed early and your car is in the lot - no worries, as the park host will be on hand to let your car out the gate. The Parks & Rec staff were pleased to hear that geocachers like park hosts (after all, they provide an added sense of security to the parking lot!). I encourage you to say "Hi" to any park host you meet and thank them for their work.
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