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Friends group urges formal parking policy after large Monday volleyball crowds
Summary
Members of the Friends of Rye Town Park told the commission that cars parking on lawns and around trees during a recent evening of volleyball and an event at Barley Beach House harmed the park and called for a formal policy to prioritize paved lots and limit lawn parking. Commissioners directed staff to consult with organizers and county parks on short-term solutions.
Emily Hurd, a board member of the Friends of Rye Town Park, told the Rye Town Park Commission that multiple events last night left cars “parked all the way up the hillside, around the trees, past the duck pond,” and urged the commission to adopt a formal parking policy to protect turf and trees.
Hurd said the park had used a consultant-recommended three-lot approach (paved lot, gravel lot, lawn between Forest Avenue and the duck pond) and an informal contingency practice under former director Russ Gold to limit lawn parking during peak demand. “Rye Town Park is a park, not a parking lot,” she said, and asked the commission to memorialize the practices so they continue despite personnel changes.
Vic Baterigo, the park’s director of grounds and facilities, told commissioners that volleyball attendance had increased this season — “eight maybe nine teams, which is like another 80 people” — and that staff lack sufficient spaces to accommodate expanded enrollment without using lawn areas. Commissioners and staff discussed operational fixes including limiting roster sizes, reserving or staging use of the gravel lot on Mondays, improved gate control, encouraging carpooling and coordinating use of a county lot across the street on Monday evenings.
Resident Pat Brady suggested blocking daytime use of the gravel lot so it would be available for volleyball arrivals; staff said preliminary counts estimate about 175 spaces in the main lot (plus 27 handicap), 100 in the gravel lot and roughly 120 in the overflow grass lot, and that roughly 30 employees might use on-site parking during the day. Staff and commissioners acknowledged that rain-night makeups and concurrent concerts complicate any single solution.
The commission did not adopt a formal new policy at the meeting but agreed to have staff contact the volleyball organizer, gather roster and arrival data, explore county lot access and return with detailed options. Commissioners said they want to avoid routine parking on park lawns and around mature trees and to preserve access for permit holders and residents.
Next steps: staff will report back with attendance counts, roster numbers and possible operational changes for commission consideration at a future meeting.
