Parents Say Lack of Parking at Ballfield is 'Dangerous'

After a plan to add more parking to a Bowie ballfield was deferred in the city’s upcoming budget, one parent told the City Council Tuesday it was “gambling on the lives of [its] citizens.” 

Representatives of the the South Bowie Boys and Girls Club told the council that the parking lot is inadequate at the Church Road Park, forcing many people to park across the street at Tall Oaks High School or along Church Road, creating a dangerous situation, they said.

The youth organization uses the 94-acre park’s three fields for soccer and football.

“It will be a tragedy for something to happen, only to discover that this could have been prevented,” said South Bowie Boys and Girls Club official Carrie Bridges. “To force the citizens of this city to cross a country road with bends, curves and blind spots with their young children is no way to treat the people who reside in this city.” 

The $340,000 parking lot expansion was one of more than a half-dozen capital projects taken off the table in the proposed fiscal 2012 budget to cut spending in the face of shrinking property tax revenues and fewer state dollars coming in.

The project is slated for 2015 in the draft budget.

But District 4 Councilman Isaac Trouth, whose district includes the park, is urging his colleagues to reinstate the funding for the expansion of the parking lot in the 2012 budget.

Trouth said the council may add an extra 33 spaces to the larger of the two parking lots in the latter part of this budget year and defer an expansion of the smaller lot until next year.

“There is money in the budget to handle it,” said Trouth, after Tuesday’s meeting.

Mayor G. Frederick Robinson said the city needs to be cautious before moving forward, but adding an extra 20-30 spaces this year is a possibility.

“I”m reluctant to make a solid commitment, but I am willing to consider alternative ways to increase parking that are less costly. We need to wait and see how it shakes out,” said Robinson.

The city has made a substantial investment in the park already, according to Robinson. A concession stand/restroom facility at the park—similar to the one at —will be ready by Labor Day, Robinson said.

A plan in the proposed budget to charge organizations $10 an hour for the use of lighted city ball fields was scrapped after complaints from youth organizations.

Bowie Boys and Girls Club President Joe Bechtel said it could cost his organization between $20,000 and $25,000.

“We just raised our rates this year, we haven’t done so in 12 years,” said Bechtel. “If we have to come up with the money for the lights, I’d have to go back and raise our rates again.”

Bechtel said the club paid for the installation of lights at and it did not seem fair to charge the organization for using them.

The City Council will consider the idea next year.

Robinson said the City Council chose to reconsider the fees next year because the clubs had already done their planning for this year.

“Our idea is to defer this until next year. It will be a substantial cost to the club. This way they have at least a year’s notice. We’re trying to share the costs of operation. It’s a fair way to do this,” Robinson said.

The fee could generate an additional $30,000 to $40,000 a year, Robinson said.

“It’s not a lot of money, but in the grand scheme of things, every little bit helps,” Robinson said.