30 replies to this topic

[NRB]

Tesseica,
I am so sorry to hear about your dogs. My house is a kids and pets mad house!!!! We have two dogs, two cats and a pond full of fish and frogs. We had two rats (my sons birthday present) but we had to put them to sleep!

Dave,
I don't believe cost was an issue at Livermore park and it has been on the table for over a year. It never was a favorite of one of the Parks and Rec. commissioners though. Anyway, they are now looking at Kemp Park even though two commissioners originally said no way! I guess they have had a change of heart now that there is the possibillity of using the Sports Complex parking lot instead of the parks. This would be the most cost effective site. Sun Country is still on the table but as a long term possibility and one other site is being considered but it would be under powerlines and shade would be limited.

Parklady, If you read your recent City of Folsom newsletter you would see that Folsom has 20 existing ball fields and 19 soccer fields, something like 42 parks consisting of @ 300 acres. The last two figures may be slightly off as I don't have the newsletter in front of me. I agree that the two additional fields will be a traffic nightmare on game days. Now don't get me wrong. I am glad Folsom has provided such a wonderful parks and sports system for it's residents but maybe it's time to provide some amenities for other groups like seniors and dog owners. The nationwide statistic is that 1 in 4 people own dogs. That's 25% of the population. In Folsom alone there are probablly over 10,000 canines!

Okay, I'm done for now! Sorry to rant. The good news is that a dog park was put in the budget for next year. So we're getting closer. Everyone, have a nice weekend!
Off my .

[parklady]

Dave - It's really a lot more than just 5 days a year. We've had many more in previous years and are told to expect more as the population grows. And the neighborhood never knows when they're coming so good luck trying to plan your family or personal life around them. The alternative is to move them to the larger field at the middle school. That's what all the other cities do. Tons more room and parking there for large events and the field is enclosed - no disturbances or liabilities for the homes nearby. Long term, the middle school should have an adequate stadium, much like the high school, or this should have been in the plans for the sportsplex, not dumping it onto the shoulders of the neighborhood just so this private league can have a "field of their own." What people don't realize is that just as they did not accommodate enough parking for football, neither have they accommodated enough parking in the plans for finishing off the park for the other fields. There will be no parking on McAdoo or Riley, so people will have no where to go but the neighborhoods. It's all so insane that any of this could ever be approved, but then the master plan is very old and obviously out of sync with the development in the area and desperately needs to be redone. Adding an extra water tank to the site, and a private school nearby (not sure how they get by with this one?) will be an additional outrageous nightmare for the parking accommodations and how and why do we not have a say in the use of this land for a private venture. I'm considering placing a parking meter in front of my home just to collect some extra income off all the times I won't be able to park or have guests in front of my home. Can you say PLANNING NIGHTMARE?

[dave]

NRB: Cost is absolutely an issue for the dog park. In fact, it is the most important issue. If it is done in a place where only fencing and maybe a sidewalk is needed (Kemp), it is more likely to be done rather than starting from scratch in Livermore. Livermore would need turf (rocks and weeds are tough on poochies paws), irrigation, maybe more parking, and would possibly displaced another desired feature (although it may be a long time before those would be built).

Parklady: I'm still wondering what else you're counting besides the 5 home games. Even as the city grows there will still be only about 5 home game days per year. You can find out in advance which are the 5 home Saturdays by contacting Parks and Rec. Actually, they should send out flyers to the closest homes at the beginning of the season detailing the schedule and practices. I will ask them to do that.

[NRB]

Dave, of course cost is always an issue. What I meant is that it was not the reason Livermore Park was shelved. Any existing park is going to be a better choice than raw land for a dog park because the utilities are already there. The only reason that Kemp Park will be cheaper than say Livermore is because they already put in irrigation, sod etc. to the tune of something like $350,000. So if you ask someone like Ernie that actual cost of the dog park is not the $108,000 for fencing and cement pad but $458,000. I guess it's all in how you look at it.

[parklady]

Dave - You can ask any of the residents - there were definitely more than 5 last year. Who knows what these events are, but they are definitely carnivals that last all day long. If they cannot accommodate the existing usage, why do they insist on continuing and expanding year from year? Ask other residents if they have seen these events grow exponentially and in number and they will tell you yes from the number of events to the number of people on the field during the day. They have not sent notices to the neighborhood nor have they involved our input in any of this. And there is no control on the hours of usage or who uses it. Seems like someone didn't plan this very well from the get go. It would have made more sense to use the land where the Sierra development is for parking for football and other park uses and to have the entrances to the park on Riley and McAdoo, with the neighborhoods behind the park not full on. By the way, since you seem to be in the know, why don't they hold the large "game day" / district wide events at the middle school like they used to?

[dave]

NRB: Maybe Ernie can be convinced. They won't consider the existing grass as costs since it was going to be done anyway.

Parklady: Lynn said that there happened to be 7 home games for some reason last year, but this year and most years should be 5. Actually, that's assuming playoffs. Regular season is 4 home games.

[parklady]

Dave - I'm not convinced at all. 4 or 7 - they don't give a damn about the neighborhood and that ticks off all of the residents not just the ones near the field. Several of the people I know on the other side of McAdoo are beginning to talk as a result of last year. Have you seen what it does to the homes on all the cul de sacs as well? No matter what the number of events (several of the residents were told by parks to only expect the number of these events to increase and the situation to get worse), the traffic comes pouring in and every year the numbers increase and it's worse and worse. Of course the league loves it because they charge per head and make big bucks off this neighborhood. And talk about some of the most inconsiderate, rude people who attend these events and then trample all over our yards, driveways, and litter and speed up and down our streets. So tell me why don't they use the middle school field for the large events? Residents as well as the developer told the buyers that this was a practice field - funny how the light standards, snack shack, score board show up magically after the homes are built and suddenly it becomes a stadium in the middle of the neighborhood! Hmmmm....... Can you say special interest.

[bordercolliefan]

Parklady,

I can hear how frustrated you are with the level of traffic, noise, and speed in your neighborhood, especially on game days. I myself have walked in that area and can vouch that some cars tool around way too fast on those curvy residential streets.

Note that the residents of Sibley St. just succeeded in having the city close their road during certain hours.

Perhaps you should try to get your neighbors together and see if you can get similar concessions from the city. Why not figure out a plan to prohibit parking on certain residential streets, block off other residential streets, etc. to try to keep some of the traffic off your streets and sidewalks?

The city did it for Sibley... why not for your neighborhood??

[tessieca]

That sounds a little sarcastic, but I would agree that they've set a precedent of appeasing an angry neighborhood, at the expense of the rest of the city. Maybe each neighborhood can come up with ideas about what bugs us and have the city fix it.

[dave]

Maybe on game days the city ought to have traffic control where at least a barricade that says "local traffic only" is put up at Carter and Russi and a sign pointing towards Riley.

The directions sheet for visiting teams could only give directions via Riley. Have a sign pointing to the lower parking lot by the softball field. When that is near full have someone send folks around to McAdoo.

Then have a traffic director who sends cars into the unfinished portion of the park from McAdoo. Leave the paved lot for coaches, officials, equipment people, and player drop-off, etc.

Maybe put cones on the house side of Carter with signs reading resident parking only.

How does that sound?

[parklady]

Dave - Your suggestions are interesting and I would add the following. Closing the neighborhood except to local traffic would need to be at all entrances (Carter at Grover and Carter at McAdoo - then they're are additional sidestreets from Grover and McAdoo that enter Willow Springs. Directing traffic by protocol to the Riley parking lot, then McAdoo is also interesting, but I don't know how you can coordinate all this and get people to comply. The league is not even able to get people to park in the dirt lot on McAdoo/Carter right now. Using cones to mark residential parking only for Carter is a thought, but how can you enforce it and what about the rest of the side streets and cul de sacs? I think you're trying to fit a square peg into a round hole so to speak because this field is not properly sited. You still haven't replied why they don't continue to use the middle school field which is much larger, and which has and will accommodate the several thousands of people who visit on these days as well as the parking and the enclosed/safety issues. Why is the league so heck bent on "owning" this field at the expense of an entire subdivision. We haven't even begun to talk about the noise, litter, overlit field and safety issues. ALso, did you try to PM me? - I saw it briefly, then it was gone before I could read it.

[parklady]

tessieca - I appreciate your sarcasm, however, the problems of Sibley, just like the Willow Springs football issues are very serious. Granted, Sibley's was without any relief and was ongoing on a daily basis. Still in all, the majority of neighbhorhoods in Folsom do not experience these blatant abuses like Sibley and the neighborhoods surrounding Livermore Park. We are talking about problems beyond minor nuisances. I believe the city as well as the residents have a responsiblity to work together to make it safer and at least tolerable. Sibley was unforseen and beyond the city's control - Livermore Park on the otherhand is a planned development. Obviously, the plans there ain't working!

[dave]

Parklady: Yes I sent you a pm. I wanted you to talk to Lynn at Parks and Rec regarding the middle school. He knows the history and the field requirements. I can have him call you. Send a pm with your number.

[parklady]

Dave - Thanks for the contact name. I can contact him directly and will direct others to him as well. You seem fairly well informed. Are you affiliated with the football league?

[parklady]

Dave - I'll that that to be a "yes."