Walls and Bridges

People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges — and too many fences around public parks.

There’s a park up the street.  It used to be accessible to everyone, from anywhere — just as parks should be.

Now, the park has a giant fence around it.

But this is no typical fence.  It’s constructed of thick iron bars.  It has sharp spikes on top, the type that would puncture someone were they foolish enough to try and climb over.  It’s intimidating, the kind one expects to see around a prison.  It’s designed strictly for one purpose, which is to keep people out.

My question is — why?  

Why build a massive fence around a city park, presumably a gathering place for people of all ages to come and enjoy the outdoors?

Madness.

For the past ten years since I’ve lived in The Lakes section of Las Vegas, Desert Breeze Park — which is right up the street — had no fence around it.  There were no problems.  Ever.  No vagrancy.  No crime.  Nothing that would instigate a call for making any changes.  I ran through this park on many occasions.  Most of the time, the grassy fields were empty except for a few kids kicking a ball, or perhaps a family with a dog fetching a frisbee.  On weekends, the lawn became filled with children, playing soccer and football.  Day or night, the park is a joyous sight and a happy place to be.

During the holidays, we came out and sat in the park on lawn chairs.  We sometimes watched the fireworks.  We met with our friends and neighbors.  The park was a social and recreational center, an oasis of green in an otherwise brown desert city.

There never seemed to be a reason to build a fence, at all.  People came to the park and enjoyed the fields during all hours of the day.  At night, teenagers who would probably otherwise be hanging out on the streets doing who knows what played basketball.  During the summertime, the basketball games sometimes lasted late into the night.  That seemed like a good thing to me.  A positive thing for the community.  Kids need parks and playgrounds when they’re growing up.  Don’t they?

Think of it this way.  What are the places known for building the most walls?  Answer — North Korea.  China.  Palestine (the Occupied Territories).  East Berlin.  South Africa under Apartheid.  Fences sure were common in all of those places.  But most nations don’t build walls.  Our state borders aren’t fenced off.  So, if most states and nations don’t need barriers, then why are there so many in our neighborhoods?

Fences are designed with two purposes in mind — privacy and security.  We build fences to provide ourselves a sanctuary and to keep out danger.  Indeed, there are valid reasons that we need fences.

But around city parks?

Why build a massive iron wall around a public place where there’s nothing at all to protect and where no danger exists?  What is the fence designed to protect?  What is there to steal?  Sprinkler heads?  Why would we keep people out of this place, and for what reason?  Do we really want to close the park down and force the kids playing basketball back out on the streets?  What good will that do?

It just doesn’t make sense.

Moreover, consider the cost.  This is no cheap fence.  It must have cost a bundle.  The fence is perhaps a quarter-mile long on each side, which by my estimation means this monstrosity is about two miles long.  What in the hell was someone thinking?  Put another way, was anyone thinking at all about such an utterly unnecessary waste of tax money?

There’s an old saying that people are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges.  How true.

We have too few bridges and too many walls.  And too many fences around public parks.

TAG: Desert Breeze Park in Las Vegas

TAG:  Nolan Dalla writings