Is it okay to use a community colleges or universitys outdoor or indoor track during weekends or during the summer?

For an indoor track, you should ask the coach or athletic director about permission and times when it is open to the public. There are lots of liability trespassing and issues that are easier to enforce with an indoor facility. Some schools will have an athletic club style membership plan that allows the public to use their facilities (swimming pool, tennis courts, fitness centers, etc.) when they don't conflict with schedules school activities (PE classes, team practices, etc.).

For an outdoor track, there are usually signs indicating when they are open for public use and/or reserved for team practices. It's easier to run on an outdoor track without asking for permission, and if a guard or coach tells you it is closed, then you could ask when it's open to the public.

If you want to use a field event facility (e.g., pole-vault pit), then fewer people will have a "don't ask, don't tell" attitude about this versus running due to the safety issues. You may need to join a youth/master's track club that provides liability insurance and has formal access to a school's facilities.

are they taxpayer funded?

Bad Wigins wrote:

are they taxpayer funded?

Obvious where you're going with that, but think of all the taxpayer funded[projects that aren't open to the public. Start with nuclear weapons and work your way down to school labs, and then on to tracks. Not saying tracks shouldn't be open to the public at times, just that the taxpayer argument is a dead end.

Bad Wigins wrote:

are they taxpayer funded?

I don't think it matters. If you don't have special permission by knowing someone personally in high places, they'll just thumb their noses at you and tell you to get lost. ?

Carl Spackler wrote:

For an outdoor track, there are usually signs indicating when they are open for public use and/or reserved for team practices. It's easier to run on an outdoor track without asking for permission, and if a guard or coach tells you it is closed, then you could ask when it's open to the public.

I don't know about that. Over the years I've been 86'd by school officials from using some of these public school outdoor tracks that are not being used in the evenings or weekends. In one case when I followed-up with the school board about using the track, they said "no can do" because of liability issues (I would need to be with a running group, sign waivers & pay a damage deposit).

Things are changing with public school outdoor track facilities. School boards scream for more taxpayer's dough all the time, but aren't interested in allowing the taxpayers to use the facilities during off-times.

Sad state of affairs. ?

Tell It Like It Is wrote:

Bad Wigins wrote:

are they taxpayer funded?

I don't think it matters. If you don't have special permission by knowing someone personally in high places, they'll just thumb their noses at you and tell you to get lost. ?

All ADs are arrogant A-holes that hate T&F athletes.

Due to my work life, I typically do track workouts once/week very early in the morning. Although the track clearly has a sign posted that says it is for the use of "university athletes only, or with permission...". I just ignore the sign, arrive at track at 5:30 am (climbing a short fence to enter), and typically I'm working out by 5:45, and leave the track for a cool down by 6:30 am. In the winter, there is enough light from nearby facilities that you can always see.

Anyhow, as far as I can tell, my use of the track typically goes unnoticed. Only once did a football coach (they have about 15 coaches I think) approach me at about 6:00 am in late August. He didn't kick me out, but just let me know that the team would be using the field by 7 am (implying that I should leave before that time). I let him know that I'd be gone by 6:30, and he just said "OK" and went about setting up cones on the infield while I continued intervals. Over the past 5 years the campus cops have stopped a couple of times and watched me workout for 5-10 minutes, but never have they got out of their cars and asked me to leave. Not sure if they have seen me enough times now to know that I'm not causing any harm, and/or its just not worth the trouble to give me the boot.

Every once in awhile I'm visiting family in Huntingdon, PA. Juniata College is a small private school in this town, and has a very nice track. The track has a sign on a gate that basically says they "welcome the public when not in use by Juniata teams" and also says that public users can run on track "at their own risk." So, I've used it a few times over Thanksgiving, Xmas, Easter, etc without any problems.

Anyhow, this is an example of a private school that opens its track up to the public, in contrast to many publicly-supported schools that do not for various reasons.

Making a long story short, my daughter and I used Wake Forest's track at Kentner "stadium" (I've seen bigger HS stadiums) during regular school hours. It was very accessible - didn't hop any fences or anything. We just parked across street near some tennis courts and walked right on. I can't recall seeing any signs that we were breaking any laws. Anyhow, although few people definitely saw us using the track, we left without incident after about 30-45 minutes.

yeah it'll depend on the AD or the coach at the school. My coach when I was in junior college didn't care if people used the track even while we were doing workouts as long as they respected that we had lane priority, right of way, etc. Most tracks should have a sign with open hours times posted. And if they don't have one or if the sign says no open hours, I'd say go for it anyway and plead ignorance if someone gets upset.

Indoor tracks definitely get a bit trickier, although when I transferred to a bigger university we were allowed to use the indoor track during certain hours, although if you aren't a student there might be a fee if you're able to get in at all.

As far as using any equipment aside from the track itself or possibly hurdles, I seriously doubt anyone would let you use those for liability purposes.

...public users can run on track "at their own risk."

Hmm. Trapdoor? Track ogre?

If you can get on the track use it whether it says open or closed.

If it's a taxpayer funded school they should have open track hours with the public. It's frustrating to me how difficult it is to find a track yo do workouts on. The community college i used for years now keeps theirs under lock and key.

I can understand closing it at a high school during school hours and at all schools when the team is using it but there should be some public time if the public is footing the bill.

@wigins wrote:

Bad Wigins wrote:

are they taxpayer funded?

Obvious where you're going with that, but think of all the taxpayer funded[projects that aren't open to the public. Start with nuclear weapons and work your way down to school labs, and then on to tracks. Not saying tracks shouldn't be open to the public at times, just that the taxpayer argument is a dead end.

Apples and oranges to say the least. Voters don't get to decide whether nuclear weapons get their funding every two years. They don't directly influence their local nuclear weapons board. Schools are locally accountable.

I guess it's different in Canada. Where I live, no one worries at all if you use the local college/university tracks. Obviously I wouldn't run on them if the team is in the middle of some sort of workout, but like the OP is mentioning, I use them on the weekend and during the summer, so that isn't an issue.

The local university has a nice indoor 200m track that I use all the time in the winter. Non-students have to pay $3 a visit, or buy passes that are even cheaper ($72 for 30 visits). This fee is very reasonable, and I don't have an issue with it at all. I buy a 30-use pass once every two years or so and I'm good.

@wigins wrote:

Bad Wigins wrote:

are they taxpayer funded?

Obvious where you're going with that, but think of all the taxpayer funded[projects that aren't open to the public. Start with nuclear weapons and work your way down to school labs, and then on to tracks. Not saying tracks shouldn't be open to the public at times, just that the taxpayer argument is a dead end.

Okay...I'll keep that in mind the next time the school district begs for my vote to increase property taxes for more funding. ?

The University of Chicago has an outdoor track that is available to everyone when the University's campus is open for operation. It's closed during the summer and holiday recess periods.

They also have an indoor track. I think that is open to the community as well, but the times are limited, because its used quite often by student athletes who are in training.

Anyway, I usually just go to an indoor track, and just hop on. No one really says anything, unless you get in the way. if you are just focused on training , they basically leave you alone. However, if you look like you are wandering, or out of place, that's when they will ask you for identification, etc

I never look at anyone when Im running. I just look down at the road or track. PLus I look like I'm faster than Kipchoge. lol

Bad Wigins wrote:

@wigins wrote:

Obvious where you're going with that, but think of all the taxpayer funded[projects that aren't open to the public. Start with nuclear weapons and work your way down to school labs, and then on to tracks. Not saying tracks shouldn't be open to the public at times, just that the taxpayer argument is a dead end.

Apples and oranges to say the least. Voters don't get to decide whether nuclear weapons get their funding every two years. They don't directly influence their local nuclear weapons board. Schools are locally accountable.

Voters don’t get to vote for every member of the house and 1/3 of the senate every 2 years? Surely if the voters had an issue with the $ going toward weapons they would vote in candidates who would defund those projects.

Bad Wigins

Never mind. Logic carries no water around here.

Red wave 18 wrote:

Bad Wigins wrote:

Apples and oranges to say the least. Voters don't get to decide whether nuclear weapons get their funding every two years. They don't directly influence their local nuclear weapons board. Schools are locally accountable.

Voters don’t get to vote for every member of the house and 1/3 of the senate every 2 years? Surely if the voters had an issue with the $ going toward weapons they would vote in candidates who would defund those projects.

Bad Wigins

Never mind. Logic carries no water around here.

Never invoke logic as part of an ad hominem argument, you look like a sophomoric fool. Especially after suggesting that Congress is as malleable as a school board.

You're most likely a sock anyhow, so I'm done with this. Obviously you can influence your school district as a taxpayer. Fight for your track-using rights.

Bad Wigins wrote:

@wigins wrote:

Obvious where you're going with that, but think of all the taxpayer funded[projects that aren't open to the public. Start with nuclear weapons and work your way down to school labs, and then on to tracks. Not saying tracks shouldn't be open to the public at times, just that the taxpayer argument is a dead end.

Apples and oranges to say the least. Voters don't get to decide whether nuclear weapons get their funding every two years. They don't directly influence their local nuclear weapons board. Schools are locally accountable.

Nuclear projects and the like are often for the good everyone on some level. Having a half million dollar track for use by only an often undedicated and crappy HS track team is unreasonable. Many HSs barely field teams or have only a few legitimate athletes, yet, they have tracks....