HPISD Wants Exclusive On Germany Park. So Pay Your Taxes and Get Out.

Should HPISD learn to share or should University Park runners suck it up? A concerned U.P. tax payer wants to use the park.

Not sure if you saw this but HPISD is trying to amend the agreement with University Park to give the High School exclusive use of the track at Germany park from January to May from 3-5pm every day.  Right now they only have use of lanes 1-4 but others can use the two outer lanes.  There is a sign listing this proposed change at the track and a meeting happening on December 5th to debate it. 

I love the High School but I’m also a runner and I generally use the track at that time.

By Merritt Patterson Nov. 29, 2010 | 10:12 am | 14 Comments | Comments RSS
14 comments to "HPISD Wants Exclusive On Germany Park. So Pay Your Taxes and Get Out."
  1. steve mace @ November 29, 2010 at 12:10 pm
    That item is on the City Council’s December 7 agenda (not December 5 as mentioned above). The meeting will begin at 5 p.m. at City Hall. More information about the item is available on the homepage of the City’s website at uptexas.org.

  2. James Tucker @ November 29, 2010 at 1:02 pm
    I will very occasionally run at Germany Park during the kid’s practice. Some people ignore the 1-4 rule and it did interfere with some of the kid’s runs.

  3. HPHSparent @ November 29, 2010 at 1:19 pm
    Question to the runner – when/where would you like the High School Track teams to practice? Keep in mind that the boys track and field team alone has over 100 athletes who need to use the facility. Is 2 hours a day for athletes only really asking that much?
    Questions to merrit – would the tax payers rather foot the bill to build the high school a track and field facility of their own? I’m sure the high school and it’s athletes would prefer to have a facility on their campus. It seems the students are children of taxpayers and have been sharing very nicely for years. Have you ever watched a track and field practice? Have you seen the size of some of these young men or the speed they are traveling around that track? Not to mention the flying discus and shot put. One taxpayer inadvertantly steps out of their lane into a student lane at the wrong time and there could be a serious injury.

  4. Southern @ November 29, 2010 at 3:30 pm
    Not to mention some of the amazing sports facilities that HPISD taxpayers have funded for other districts.

  5. Southern @ November 29, 2010 at 3:34 pm
    Not to mention some of the amazing sports facilities that HPISD taxpayers have funded for other districts. Now we can’t even use parks within our town?

  6. yallrstupid @ November 30, 2010 at 10:30 am
    Shouldn’t people be at work from 3-5 pm?

  7. T-Bone @ November 30, 2010 at 12:01 pm
    I think 4 lanes is enough. Those months/times are the warmest during that period and retired folks as well as other residents like to use the track at that time.

    What we NEED to do (HPHSparent, I’m talking to you…..) is expect the parents of the high schoolers to teach their children HOW & WHERE to park when at Germany Park. They park ANYWHERE there’s a space (fire hydrants, no parking zones, alleys, sidewalks). I’ve seen it all. And PICK UP YOUR paper water cups! They’re thrown all over the place during practice and no one picks up the trash.

    A SIDE GRIPE:
    Why doesn’t HPHS use the track at one of the THREE OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS we fund through Robin Hood? If we kept all that money HERE, we could build a triple-decker elevated, air conditioned track at Germany Park with spa facilities. When is the HPEF going to utilize our electricity bills as a way to circumvent Robin Hood? I’d gladly double my monthly electricity bill if I could reduce my annual property taxes by 75%. We’re leaving our money on the table to be used by other school districts!

  8. Steve @ November 30, 2010 at 2:30 pm
    Seems like we shouldn’t use the track from 3-5 pm in order to allow the high school team to work out. That seems justified. If one has to run during that time, there are probably some great stretches of sidewalk to do your sprints. There are also plenty of quiet streets where one can jog. I’m an avid runner but HPISD is a huge part of what keeps the PC unique. We have to work to preserve that.

    As far as using others’ facilities, that’s cute. We have a lot of resources as a city and resident population and are called upon to share those with others. Mad for Plaid is the way to go if we feel a track is the best use of school funding.

  9. LM @ November 30, 2010 at 3:56 pm
    I see it from both sides. Some folks need a smooth, soft surface to run on, especially those of us getting up in years. Crumbling, uneven sidewalks are not safe for some people.
    However, the high school has a legitimate need, and it isn’t a safe environment to mix the kids with recreational runners. Supporting our kids and the schools is important, too.
    Can the district use the football stadium for track?

    I feel the same way about the Holmes Acquatic Center, aka UP’s swimming pool. As a non-senior adult, I can’t use it to swim until late morning. Swim teams, private lessons and seniors get the early morning hours. That’s never seemed right to me.

  10. Adam @ November 30, 2010 at 5:29 pm
    Only two hours a day, for only five months? I see no big deal here. Run earlier, later, or elsewhere–options not open to the kids. Let the kids practice. Next.

  11. The runner @ November 30, 2010 at 7:41 pm
    My biggest concern is the track has no lights so running in the evening isn’t safe. I know daylight savings ends in March but before that it’s too dark at night to be on the track. A solution would be to light the track so there are more available hours to run safely. But, that would be expensive. However UP just shut down the tennis courts there to put up new lights. Perhaps tennis moms have more clout than runner moms.

    I am in agreement that exclusive use by the HS is probably the best thing but not without some concessions for making other times available. I also don’t think the track team will use it every day as many of their meets are “away” meets but it seems that the agreement kicks off residents no matter what every weekday.

  12. Steve @ November 30, 2010 at 8:43 pm
    Run in the morning or at lunch. I run before 6:00 a.m. on the track. It’s not like running on sidewalks. To me, there’s nothing dangerous about a flat track.

  13. Matt @ December 1, 2010 at 8:14 am
    The track should be for everyone to use so why not let the high school use it exclusively for limited hours during those months. When the city renovated the track many of us faithful runners there were hopeful they would put subdued lighting in to extend the hours. Since the city chose not to do this to extend the available hours, this problem not comes up.

  14. Fortunate @ December 2, 2010 at 8:37 am
    Totally off topic but related to night lighting, our family was driving down Hillcrest yesterday evening and nearly hit a family of pedestrians crossing Hillcrest in the crosswalk to get to HPUMC. There is no street lighting there at all. We just happened to see them at the last minute. Scary!!

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