Recent dismantling of the basketball hoops at Westminster Park has caused controversy about whether or not more basketball courts in the city and county are going to be shut down.
City and county officials alike say there are no present plans to shut down more courts, only hopes to open more, although no concrete plans are in the works.Mike Peterson, associate director of Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation, said Salt Lake County is "Mr. and Mrs. Basketball, and if anything we'd like to build a few more courts."
Peterson said the county has experienced no problems with people playing hoops after park hours and hasn't had any complaints from residents that live nearby the county parks.
According to John Gust, director of Parks and Recreation for Salt Lake City, the reason the hoops at Westminster Park were shut down was because neighbors near the park complained the late-night playing was too noisy. "The house was 20 feet from the hoop and the guy couldn't sit in his house and read a book or put his kids to bed. The guy had to go to work in the morning and the kids had to go to school.
"If parks become an intrusion - I don't care if it's a sports activity or horseshoes - it's up to us to do something about it. We shouldn't let it become an intrusion."
Gust said one lesson the Parks and Recreation Division has learned is not to put hoops next to residents' homes. "It just becomes a very intolerable situation."
Rick Graham, deputy director of parks for the Salt Lake City Parks and Recreation Department, said the department is taking care of the basketball players and is in the process of finding a suitable place for them to play hoops in a nearby area. "It's been a little traumatic at first, but I think it will all work out."