The Steamboat Pilot & Today

The comments on this thread have been very enlightening. However, as usual, many have either ignored history or weren’t here when the park originally came into being. It is my recollection that all the land around the Pamela Lane residences was plotted for a massive, high-density development of small patio homes and/or mobile homes. When the community voted to bond for the trail system negotiations began with the adjacent landowners to acquire the park property. Then as the land was acquired for both Emerald Park and the Botanic Park access to those sites became an issue. First I recall that the city built all the fencing behind those houses that faced the trail to ensure their privacy. The city, as the park was developed also put on the table a secondary access to the park that would run behind those houses, between the housing and the trail. The negotiations fell apart because the only access that the residents would agree to was the one south of Pamela Land and across the train tracks. This access has presented numerous problems through the years: two being, difficulty with adding a yet another access point on Lincoln and safety and negotiations with the owner of the train tracks. A light was later added to assist both park visitors and residents in entering and leaving the Pamela Lane area. It seems that this neighborhood has boxed themselves in over the years and don’t want anyone else to play in “their” park. P.S. I also seem to recall that the ball fields were originally meant for local use only, but time changes everything.