Currently, the aforementioned City Ordinance, § 22-28 (e) overly restricts access and use of the Linear Creekway Parks by closing them "for all purposes each day at sunset, or after events scheduled by the department of parks and recreation are completed, and will re-open each day at sunrise." Violators of this ordinance are subject to fines of $300 per citation.



However, these linear creekways serve as vital transportation corridors for cyclists and pedestrian commuters, which speaks nothing of recreational users seeking safe recreation facilities immediately before and after work. During Standard Daylight Time when sunset is as early as 5:35PM and sunrise is as late as 7:30AM, bicycle and pedestrian users who work normal business hours (8am-5pm or 9am-6pm) are faced with either risking their safety traveling on darkened surface streets or illegally traversing these greenway routes and risking a $300 fine. Not only is this fine egregious, but the safety of these citizens should ALWAYS supersede the appeasement and convenience of adjacent neighborhoods seeking a false sense of security.

Some may argue that there is insufficient funding to adequately provide safety patrols beyond the existing hours of operation. However, 1) park police are currently sufficiently present to issue citations to curfew violators; and 2) park police hours are not budgetarily restricted to the same operating hours (i.e. 7:30AM - 5:35PM) during Daylight Saving Time, thus invalidating this argument.

Finally, under § 22-28 (a) the default hours for other City parks stipulate they "shall be closed for all purposes at 11:00 p.m. each day and re-opened for public use at 5:00 a.m. each day." As such, facilities including McAllister, OP Schnabel, South Side Lions, and Brackenridge parks, among others, remain safely open during these extended hours regardless of the earth’s position to the sun. Simply stated, there is no compelling, legitimate rationale to exclude the Linear Greenway Parks from these same operating hours and this ordinance must be repealed for the greater safety of its citizens.