An alternative to locking up high school tracks

Published June 12, 2010 at 5:05 p.m.

Re: “Track policy hobbles runners,” June 5 news story.

The new Denver Public Schools policy of locking up the high school tracks in Denver to protect them from vandalism is ill-conceived and shortsighted. It ignores Colorado’s running culture, deprives residents of a community resource that they pay for through taxes, and flies in the face of efforts to combat skyrocketing obesity rates in this country.

When 50,000 people show up to run the Bolder Boulder, surely there is demand in this state for training amenities like high school tracks. All kinds of runners use these tracks — from marathon and triathlon training groups to moms who bring their kids out there when they need to get in a workout with their children in tow.

Tracks are a great place for kids to run around and get exercise. Yet access to them has become scarce in Denver and will soon be non-existent if the DPS policy is implemented. A better alternative is to keep the tracks open during daytime and lock them at night when the threat of vandalism is highest. I would be all for investing my tax dollars to add this simple task to an existing employee’s duties.

Geraldine Link, Denver

This letter was published in the June 13 edition. For information on how to send a letter to the editor, click here.

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