• The existing parking area along Collingwood is never full. Why build a parking lot? The Collingwood parking area is almost always full for the three months when Gardner Pool is open, and is used extensively during the other nine months of the year. Many users of Shafor Park and the OCC currently park in front of residential properties. Having a 25-space parking lot will decrease this infringement into Oakwood neighborhoods.
• The courts need to be upgraded, but at a smaller cost. Most of the cost of the project is associated with constructing the tennis courts. If the proposed parking lot is eliminated and a sixth court is constructed, the total project cost will be very similar.
• There will be strange cars in the parking lot after everyone leaves. It will be a hot spot for “undesirables”. The lot will be signed to prohibit overnight parking. The Oakwood Public Safety Department will monitor the lot on a regular basis. If warranted, videos cameras can easily be installed with video footage sent directly to Safety Dispatch.
• We don’t build parking lots in Oakwood. Even in our business district we aren’t tearing stuff down to build parking lots. In 2010, the City demolished a 4-unit apartment building and constructed a 35-space parking lot on Orchard Drive. It has been home to the Oakwood Farmers Market since the market began in 2013.
• The parking lot will kill property values in the neighborhood, slashing the ability of property owners to sell their homes. What if values drop by 40%? Do not understand the basis for making this extreme assertion, particularly when the project will result in the construction of a beautiful new tennis facility, with all new landscaping.
• Let’s build a humongous parking lot so everyone can storm our parks. Do not understand the basis for making this statement. Does this suggest that a 25-space parking lot will draw the masses, as if the parking lot becomes a destination?
• The project will kill Shafor Park… drawing kids not even from here. Do not understand what this means. Oakwood public parks are open to the public.
• Concern about 2-way traffic in parking lot. The parking lot will be 1-way, with an entrance from E. Schantz Avenue and an exit onto Collingwood Avenue. This provides for safe and efficient vehicle flow through the lot.
• What is the purpose of the parking lot? The parking lot will serve the Oakwood Community Center, Gardner Pool, Shafor Park, and the tennis court facility.
• Why not put a splash pad there instead of a parking lot? The City already has a large splash pad at Orchardly Park, and a water feature at Shafor Park.