A small skateboard facility proposed for the northern portion of Centennial Park is stirring last-minute opposition to the location among neighbors of the site.
Residents of Century Drive and Old Willow Way, whose homes back to the portion of the park off Old Annapolis Road, complain that they did not learn of the county's plans until last month. They fear that the small park, with two baseball fields, tennis and racquetball courts, a small playground and a basketball court will become ground zero for every skateboarder from Laurel to Mount Airy. Current plans would convert the basketball court to a skateboard facility, using the paved surface to save money.
"It's so secluded from the street, kids could do anything there. I paid a $15,000 premium for my lot," said Jann Keenan, an eight-year resident, whose house, separated by a grove of trees, is about 300 feet from the basketball court.
She and neighbors including Mike Prebish and Chris McCrory said teens walk into the park at night, and they fear noise from skateboarders. They've gathered signatures from 106 people opposed to the location.
"This is acoustically a nightmare," Keenan said, explaining that the park is lower than the surrounding houses, making it easier for sounds to travel.
"People moved into the neighborhood because of the park," Prebish said. He and the others want the skateboard facility placed in the larger, southern section of the park off Route 108, which is not near homes.
Keenan complained that she and her neighbors learned of the project Feb. 1.
"It's just a travesty. We're livid. There's no public signs," announcing the plans, she said, adding that the park should have been treated as a separate capital project, which would have given it more visibility. Her husband, David Burrell, noted that on nice days when the park's facilities are all in use, parking is scarce.
Chris McCrory, another neighborhood resident, endorsed that view.
"We are going to be overwhelmed with skateboard users," she said.
More than 100 supporters of the park outnumbered the few opponents who showed up at a Department of Recreation and Parks board meeting on the project Feb. 20 despite bad weather, according to Gary J. Arthur, director of Recreation and Parks.
The board plans to hold a work-session discussion on the project March 19 at department headquarters, 7120 Oakland Mills Road in Columbia. If the board approves the location, County Executive Ken Ulman will make the final decision, Arthur said.
