Editor COMMENTS

Back in 1940, Robert Heinlein wrote a story called "The Roads Must Roll" which has since become a science fiction classic. In this story, Heinlein predicted that by 1975, America would come to rely on mobility to the point that everything moved constantly: houses, businesses, parks, and people--everything! Perhaps Heinlein underestimated the length of time it would take to produce a society whose prime business is transportation, but the time is apparently arriving at an alarming rate.

This observation is made after my attendance at a press conference held by the City Park Department. The conference was held to get interaction between park officials and teenagers so that city parks might be planned so that more teen activities might be included. It was also a time for park officials to alert teens that they sometimes cause some trouble, even if inadvertently. The number one problem for the park department: cars.

It appears that certain parks draw in hundreds of teenagers and their cars every weekend. The congestion caused by all the cars is a problem for people who have come to the park for other reasons than showing off their wheels. The parking areas are usually in the grass, causing problems for the lawnkeepers as the grass begins to recede from the road. Littering follows, of course. And what's a car without a stereo? The noise problem has drawn complaints from people living near parks as well as those people out for a "peaceful" afternoon.

City Park Supt. Robert Arnold appeared frustrated that many park activities flop because kids refuse to leave their cars to participate in concerts, dances, holiday parties, and such. When Arnold asked for suggestions about activities that might draw kids from their cars, he received the information that kids use the parks specifically to show off cars, and any activities should be planned around cars.

The meeting turned out to be pretty much a stalemate between park officials who want to dilute the cars and the spokesmen who want parks paved over so that a premium number of cars can get in. The closest thing to a solution to any of the problems posed at the meeting was to buy an abandoned drive-in and convert it to a "youth park" where kids can come specifically to cruise. Arnold said however, "This, I hope, is the beginning of an effort to open lines of communication to receive ideas from teenagers." Arnold promised that steps would be taken to get in touch with teenagers so that their wishes might be better known. Kids who have ideas were encouraged to get in touch with the Park Board.

My reaction to the whole thing was that I was startled that cars in the park have become such a problem. I know I would begin to question myself if I discovered that cruising through the parks with a bottle of beer and some tapes was my main weekend activity. Are kids today that hard up for something to do?

Surely it is to be lamented that kids have become such a part of their cars that when a park has its motor traffic closed off, the kids say the park is "closed," as if the park were shutdown entirely. When Arnold asked, "What are you going to do when gas goes up to 75 cents a gallon this summer?" the reply was, "Kids will drive less during the week so they can still cruise on Sunday." Is "cruising" that important, that entertaining, that enriching?

Certainly there is nothing wrong with having an interest in cars, but do cars have to rule our lives? If you are the type who spends your weekend "crusing," or if you know someone who is, try packing a frisbee and as many friends as possible into one car and go to the park and see what else is offered other than asphalt, exhaust fumes, and ear-shattering rock. You might be surprised.

--Rick Hines