A 140-acre park would destroy the rural character of a South Carroll neighborhood and jam its country roads with traffic, residents say.
Krimgold Park in Woodbine has been in the pipeline for several years and will be one of the largest parks in Carroll County when completed next year, said Tom Rio, chief of the county?s bureau of building construction.
The park will provide fields for the growing number of sports teams, and about 30,000 people will use it each year, county officials said.
Most county residents have looked forward to having another park, and when residents from the adjacent neighborhood heard about it, they did too ? at first.
But when they heard “park,” they pictured a small area where children could play.
“We feel this is not a park,” said Tom Pearre, who lives about a quarter-mile from the park site. “It?s a sports complex.
“It?s going to bring all these people to this area, which really can?t handle it,” Pearre added. “I?d like to see them eliminate it altogether.”
Roads already back up during rush hour, said Jay Gaither, who has lived in the neighborhood 23 years.
“Just think if this were your neighborhood and you?re using our tax dollars to put something in that we don?t really want,” Gaither said. “It?s really going to mess up the neighborhood.”
Jeff Degitz, head of county parks and recreation, said he had met several times with worried residents, beginning with a public hearing in May 2005.
Since then, the project, initially set to break ground in spring 2006, has been delayed while the county made adjustments to try to appease residents.
The county eliminated from the original plan two of the 11 ball fields, took out a planned second entrance and made sure all the fields and picnic tables would be 175 feet from homes, Degitz said.
Still, residents say that?s not enough. The park, they say, will attract thousands of people, and residents say their concerns are being brushed aside.
“It?s just bureaucracy run amok,” Gaither said. “It?s sort of like we just got steamrolled by the county.”
Krimgold Park
The park will features nine sports fields, ponds, trails, pavilions, a playground and 200 parking spaces.
