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Oregon Daily Emerald - Abandoned park plans uncertain Page 1 of 2 <br /> A Thursday October 23, 2003 <br /> Oregon Daily Emerald Get a FREE Nokia 3595 <br /> online edition • — when you buy online 'with:elect plan_aid rec <br /> Front Page News' Sports Commentary Pulse Special Editions About Us Ad Rates Classified <br /> Search News options <br /> ® Abandoned park plans uncertain din <br /> ' The West University Park sparks debate among nearby <br /> 'NEWS ` neighbors concerned about safety <br /> A matter of heart A.Sho Ikeda . <br /> King inspires,shares Senior News Reporter <br /> October 23,2003 <br /> dream with Eugene <br /> Wushu Club practices Sitting between Hilyard Street and Patterson Street on 14th Avenue <br /> skill in a Ili is a patch of land about half the size of a soccer field. Street lights <br /> 9 ty` dimly illuminate the far side of the park,while homes and apartment <br /> choreography buildings line its darkened boundaries. Weeds grow between cracks GE <br /> Corrections in the brick tiled pathway that connects the dry grass field to the FF <br /> sidewalk.An aging brown sign with curvy white lettering tells <br /> Crime watch (10/22/03) passersby the name of this no man's land:West University Nc <br /> gl ' Neighborhood Park. pov <br /> for <br /> III. The park has been off-limits to the public since 1995. Now, West <br /> dlgNbl partners University residents, business owners and other community <br /> network members will begin to discuss the future of the abandoned parcel of <br /> L land. With the West University Task Force and the newly re-formed <br /> West University Neighborhood Association raising concerns about <br /> Sign Up for the crime and quality of life in the area, the park has become an <br /> Oregon Daily important issue regarding the vitality of the neighborhood. <br /> Emerald Insider <br /> C Sports Steven Baker, a West University resident, said there are"mixed <br /> feelings in the neighborhood"about the park. <br /> C News <br /> (enter email address) "There are some people who think that (the city)should open the <br /> park and there are others who want to keep it closed," Baker said. <br /> more info privacy policy <br /> Baker, who has lived in the West University neighborhood since <br /> 1973, said residents of the area were concerned with transients and <br /> other individuals who frequented the park during the years it was <br /> Get It to Go! a open. He said certain people were using the park for drug deals, <br /> ck is here for the public drinkingand otherdisruptive behavior. <br /> PDA version. Avant( sru P <br /> The West University Neighborhood Park closed in 1995 when wher <br /> tenants, landlords and property owners asked the city to close it <br /> because of criminal activity stemming from it. The city became <br /> concerned with the welfare and safety of residents near the park and <br /> stated it had "become a haven for illegal activities"and created "an `with <br /> atmosphere that is unfit and unsafe,"according to a city recuni <br /> administrative order ordering the closure of the park in November <br /> 1995. <br /> L City Park Planner John Weber said the park's location on 14th <br /> Avenue limited its visibility,which led to many of the problems it <br /> experienced. With one side facing 14th Avenue and privately owned <br /> http://www.dailyemerald.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/10/23/3fW7edfl89481 10/23/03 <br />