Are public tracks a thing of the past?

Sounds good. Now for the championship race at the end of the season, everyone agrees to join the same Google hangout and start at the same time.

Yeah - I used to work out regularly at my university track (that I also happened to compete for several years back) and they recently shut down the track to any public use a few years ago.

I used to donate quite regularly to the program, but not so much lately because of this.

Payer of huge amounts of tax wrote:

Considering we have already paid for this public track in the form of property taxes that benefit public schools, yes, we're quite entitled.

Yeah!! And while we're at it why can't I drive the school buses I paid for when I need to go out of town on the weekend when school's out and the school isn't using them? And why can't I go in and use the chem labs? And why do I have to buy a gym membership when the school has a good weight room that I should be able to use? Denying me use of those assets isn't fair I paid my property taxes too!!

By the way, I'm in favor of public uses of a school's track and athletic fields when not being used for school activities, I just don't think the "I should be able to use it because I paid property taxes" argument is a good one.

which I'm a tax payer, the track use to be open to the public until some juvenile vandals tore up 50m x 4 lanes of the first curve and broke several windows in the press box. After that a six foot high chain link fence was erected to prevent future occurrences.

Your analogy about using the school buses and the meth labs are absurd. Obviously no school district is going to allow public use of those just because the tax payers are footing the bill.

However, most schools, including my school allow public use of the weight room after school hours as long as you don't inhibit school athletes from having the first opportunity to use them.

And our school also has a 240m square of hallways that is open to the public before and after classes for the townsfolk to use during inclement weather.

Within reason all school district taxpayers should have certain/limited access to the facilities that you/me/we/they are paying for.

Don't ever forget the first three words of the US Constitution are, "We The People." We pay the taxes, we own it and within reason we have access to it.

Funny how it varies around the world. There's a lot of lunacy to prevent people training and limit the sport.

In the UK, most tracks are public facilities and you can get in for a few quid. But you need planning permission from the local council to build anything. So if a fancy private high school or a university wants to build a track, or even a big gym or pool or a tennis court, they won't usually get permission unless they agree to open up out of school hours, or share facilities with local clubs. On balance, this is pretty good, except that it's rarely free.

I spent a semester once at a certain highly wealthy academic institution in Boston with an incredible indoor track. The local clubs all came in a couple of evenings a week, which was great because all the postgrads and staff were prevented from working out "with the team" during normal hours - something that still strikes me as crazy coming from the UK - and we got some really good groups together to hammer out reps while it froze outside.

Meanwhile, I'm currently a bit annoyed because I'm off to a town in Sweden next week with a big indoor track. (The nearest one to me in the UK is a couple of hours, so useless, even though it's allegedly in London like me). I emailed the facility, and they said it's strictly limited to the two clubs that train there - you can't even pay for a single session. I emailed one of the clubs and they said "no, you can't train with us unless you pay for the whole season's membership and you plan to compete".

Singapore sounds good. All the tracks are open to everyone from dawn onwards. It's a tiny investment and gives people a safe place to run. From what I have seen, it's the same in several places in Paris.

but how much in pounds or fractions thereof is a quid? Never been to the UK.

Found an open one today! So 1/4 of the local high school tracks is open.

jamin wrote:

Found an open one today! So 1/4 of the local high school tracks is open.

It should be,

So 1/4 of the local high school tracks "are" open. Not "is open"

A quick Q. for you jamin, are you still suffering from tapioca pudding poisoning? LOL!

Hurry, Hurry, quickly now lad, report this post!!!

Grammar nazi here. wrote:

It should be,

So 1/4 of the local high school tracks "are" open. Not "is open"

A quick Q. for you jamin, are you still suffering from tapioca pudding poisoning? LOL!

Hurry, Hurry, quickly now lad, report this post!!!

1/4 was supposed to be read as "one out of the four"

I am no longer sick from the food in the penitentiary

We just had a new high school and nice track built in our town.

Paid for partially with a property tax hike: we will be paying it off forever.

They said one thing they heard from the public, in trying to push the tax raise to pay for the school, was that school administrators did not take care of the old school. So to preserve the new school and facilities for as long as possible, they wanted to generally prohibit public use.

But they decided they would allow the public to use the track by renting it for $25/hour when public use could be supervised.

Luckily the school used a state grant to pay for part of the track. Grant terms stated facilities built with the funds had to be reasonably open to the public.

So a few conversations from the grant providers forced the school to open the track to the public during daylight hours.

This school, and likely many hours, are cautious about giving the public access to expensive facilities, like a track. They fear vandalism and destruction.

Its a valid point.

The solution here was to only allow public entry during daylight hours. A turnstile gate only allows access in one location, and makes it hard to access with machines or bicycles. Security camera monitors who comes and goes.

HardLoper wrote:

Bad Wigins wrote:

People's Track League

for the championship race at the end of the season, everyone agrees to join the same Google hangout and start at the same time.

No! No fancy championship, too many logistics which is what keeps track from the people. Champion is the leaderboard #1 at the end of the year.

I grew up in a small town where the high school track was open to the public. Then someone rode her horse (small town thing!) on the track, tearing up the surface. The track was subsequently closed to the public, and has been ever since. Tracks are expensive, the public is stupid, and school districts are being good stewards of tax dollars to protect their property.

Payer of huge amounts of tax wrote:

Considering we have already paid for this public track in the form of property taxes that benefit public schools, yes, we're quite entitled.

My tax dollars pay for all kinds of things I don't get to use. The Air Force doesn't let me take an F-16 for a spin. I don't get to crash at the White House when I visit D. C. I don't get to roam the halls of the local high school.

So I guess you're cool with having all tracks locked up and none of the public being able to use them. Isn't this a running site? Someone is looking for a public track for his running, and you somehow have a problem with him stating that his property taxes helped pay for that track and would hope that would allow him to use it? Or are you just being a douche with your nonsensical comparisons?For what it's worth, I generally find I have better luck with JUCO and community college tracks being open as opposed to high school tracks. School functions would take priority of course. Maybe it's due to the age of the students that would be using the facility during school hours.

plkhvsahfjd wrote:

Payer of huge amounts of tax wrote:

Considering we have already paid for this public track in the form of property taxes that benefit public schools, yes, we're quite entitled.

My tax dollars pay for all kinds of things I don't get to use. The Air Force doesn't let me take an F-16 for a spin. I don't get to crash at the White House when I visit D. C. I don't get to roam the halls of the local high school.

plkhvsahfjd wrote:

Payer of huge amounts of tax wrote:

Considering we have already paid for this public track in the form of property taxes that benefit public schools, yes, we're quite entitled.

My tax dollars pay for all kinds of things I don't get to use. The Air Force doesn't let me take an F-16 for a spin. I don't get to crash at the White House when I visit D. C. I don't get to roam the halls of the local high school.

But you do get fire protection, police protection, streets to drive on, PUBLIC parks to recreate at, and numerous other PUBLICLY funded entities that like a track COULD and SHOULD be set up so tax payers are given on opportunity for limited use.

plkhvsahfjd wrote:

I grew up in a small town where the high school track was open to the public. Then someone rode her horse (small town thing!) on the track, tearing up the surface. The track was subsequently closed to the public, and has been ever since. Tracks are expensive, the public is stupid, and school districts are being good stewards of tax dollars to protect their property.

I would think in your small town, someone would have found out who the someone was that rode a horse on the track and made them pay for the damages. Most tracks that I have seen that are open to the public have a small gate or turnstile that prevents bikes, scooters, motor cycles, etc from accessing the facilities.

Has any ever heard of a school getting involved in a lawsuit because someone was injured while walking, jogging, or working out as a guest on a track? Has anyone ever seen or heard of someone in a high school, college, or professional track meet get injured while competing in a running event and the injury could be caused by negligence of the host organization putting on the meet?

Look at the condition of some natural grass football and soccer fields or challenging cross country courses - are there law suits in those situations?!?!?

Legal Beagle wrote:

Has any ever heard of a school getting involved in a lawsuit because someone was injured while walking, jogging, or working out as a guest on a track?

No because it doesn't happen.

On the other hand wrote:

plkhvsahfjd wrote:

I grew up in a small town where the high school track was open to the public. Then someone rode her horse (small town thing!) on the track, tearing up the surface. The track was subsequently closed to the public, and has been ever since. Tracks are expensive, the public is stupid, and school districts are being good stewards of tax dollars to protect their property.

I would think in your small town, someone would have found out who the someone was that rode a horse on the track and made them pay for the damages. Most tracks that I have seen that are open to the public have a small gate or turnstile that prevents bikes, scooters, motor cycles, etc from accessing the facilities.

Everyone in town knew who it was. I doubt the school district could have gotten away with presenting her a bill.

As a runner, I'd like to have access to a track. As a taxpayer, I'm glad I don't. The more people that use (and abuse) a track, the more frequently it will need to be resurfaced. At my expense.