IDLE COURTS

A month or so ago, Mayor Vivian Jones received something of a shock.
Austin Shaw, the high school junior who was instrumental in organizing the 3-on-3 community basketball tournament played with temporary goals at Taylor Street Park, presented her with a petition to reinstall permanent goals at the park.
The petition was signed by hundreds of people.
“We had a meeting for the planning of the tournament and someone mentioned a petition — they really want those courts to be revitalized,” Shaw said. “We thought it was a great idea.”
So sheets were put out during the tournament. Practically everyone signed them.
“You don’t throw the baby out with the bath water and that’s what happened there,” said Les Burleson, Shaw’s youth pastor at Wake Forest Baptist Church. Burleson helped Shaw get the tournament going. “We’re not trying to change anything but what we’re seeing is people wanting a change.”

The net effect
The 1.5-acre pocket park sits at the corner of Juniper and Taylor streets, across from Olive Branch Baptist Church.
On-site is the Alston-Massenburg Center, a small indoor facility used for church gatherings and social functions.
A once splashed-in town-run pool is no longer operating — it’s been filled for years; a playground originally situated underneath a water tower was removed (as was the tower above it); and goals were taken down from several basketball courts after churchgoers complained of noise.
But no one living nearby expected these amenities to go away and not be replaced by something just as nice. The net effect is the park looks run-down.
And that bothers folks like Tilda Caudle, who lives across Juniper Street in sight of the park.
Even church-sponsored games don’t prevent cussing, she said.
“Wherever you have an atmosphere of people playing basketball or any kind of sports, you’re going to have noise,” she said.
She added she’d like to see park activities that don’t invite crime after-hours. Also important are uses that don’t send kids running into traffic after loose balls.
“As a teenager I was over there. It was a place for the community,” Caudle said.
“I would love to see tennis courts — games for the younger generation since we already have a basketball court down the street.”

Follow-through
Two years ago, when the town took away the goals from Taylor Street, new ones were raised on the DuBois campus. Courts have also been built down Juniper at Ailey Young Park.
But the DuBois campus courts often go unused, Shaw said, though he’s not certain why.
Ailey Young Park is more easily explained. Sidewalks connect to that block of Juniper, but not on the side of the park. Cars often speed along the road, making the approach unsafe, town leaders and community activists have said.
So town commissioners have agreed to do something about that — and about the current state of Taylor Street Park.
“We thought we were doing what the neighborhood wanted, but I guess we didn’t follow through far enough,” Mayor Jones said. “We’ve instructed the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board to review the Alston-Massenburg Center, look at it and see what we can do to enhance it.”
Monday night, that advisory board met with Keith Shackleford, a member of the Northeast Community Association, which formed recently as part of the Northeast Neighborhood revitalization plan.
There was a lot of back-and-forth talk about what changes could be made and what improvements should be made to better the appearance and viability of the corner park.
“It just needs to either look better or have better uses or both,” Shackleford said.
The group agreed to ask the community association for its suggestions, which advisory board members will weigh in making their recommendation to Wake Forest commissioners.

Courting courts
Shackleford said members of the community association have cited a number of suggestions for the park, including restoring basketball courts; replacing the pool and adding tennis courts, but “nothing definite.”
Stressing he was speaking his own mind, Shackleford said what he’d like to see most is sidewalks all the way to Flaherty Park so Taylor Street Park wouldn’t need repetitive uses.
“We have the resources here already; all we have to do is make it more accessible,” Shackleford said.
Wake Forest commissioners recently agreed to use parks and recreation bond monies to build a sidewalk along White Street all the way to Flaherty Park.
At the start of next year, commissioners will look at specific spending for capital improvements, Commissioner Velma Boyd said, stressing the need for an answer from both the community group and the advisory board by then.
“In January, we’ll be listing priorities. We’ve got to hear what you’re thinking,” she said.A month or so ago, Mayor Vivian Jones received something of a shock.
Austin Shaw, the high school junior who was instrumental in organizing the 3-on-3 community basketball tournament played with temporary goals at Taylor Street Park, presented her with a petition to reinstall permanent goals at the park.
The petition was signed by hundreds of people.
“We had a meeting for the planning of the tournament and someone mentioned a petition — they really want those courts to be revitalized,” Shaw said. “We thought it was a great idea.”
So sheets were put out during the tournament. Practically everyone signed them.
“You don’t throw the baby out with the bath water and that’s what happened there,” said Les Burleson, Shaw’s youth pastor at Wake Forest Baptist Church. Burleson helped Shaw get the tournament going. “We’re not trying to change anything but what we’re seeing is people wanting a change.”

The net effect
The 1.5-acre pocket park sits at the corner of Juniper and Taylor streets, across from Olive Branch Baptist Church.
On-site is the Alston-Massenburg Center, a small indoor facility used for church gatherings and social functions.
A once splashed-in town-run pool is no longer operating — it’s been filled for years; a playground originally situated underneath a water tower was removed (as was the tower above it); and goals were taken down from several basketball courts after churchgoers complained of noise.
But no one living nearby expected these amenities to go away and not be replaced by something just as nice. The net effect is the park looks run-down.
And that bothers folks like Tilda Caudle, who lives across Juniper Street in sight of the park.
Even church-sponsored games don’t prevent cussing, she said.
“Wherever you have an atmosphere of people playing basketball or any kind of sports, you’re going to have noise,” she said.
She added she’d like to see park activities that don’t invite crime after-hours. Also important are uses that don’t send kids running into traffic after loose balls.
“As a teenager I was over there. It was a place for the community,” Caudle said.
“I would love to see tennis courts — games for the younger generation since we already have a basketball court down the street.”

Follow-through
Two years ago, when the town took away the goals from Taylor Street, new ones were raised on the DuBois campus. Courts have also been built down Juniper at Ailey Young Park.
But the DuBois campus courts often go unused, Shaw said, though he’s not certain why.
Ailey Young Park is more easily explained. Sidewalks connect to that block of Juniper, but not on the side of the park. Cars often speed along the road, making the approach unsafe, town leaders and community activists have said.
So town commissioners have agreed to do something about that — and about the current state of Taylor Street Park.
“We thought we were doing what the neighborhood wanted, but I guess we didn’t follow through far enough,” Mayor Jones said. “We’ve instructed the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board to review the Alston-Massenburg Center, look at it and see what we can do to enhance it.”
Monday night, that advisory board met with Keith Shackleford, a member of the Northeast Community Association, which formed recently as part of the Northeast Neighborhood revitalization plan.
There was a lot of back-and-forth talk about what changes could be made and what improvements should be made to better the appearance and viability of the corner park.
“It just needs to either look better or have better uses or both,” Shackleford said.
The group agreed to ask the community association for its suggestions, which advisory board members will weigh in making their recommendation to Wake Forest commissioners.

Courting courts
Shackleford said members of the community association have cited a number of suggestions for the park, including restoring basketball courts; replacing the pool and adding tennis courts, but “nothing definite.”
Stressing he was speaking his own mind, Shackleford said what he’d like to see most is sidewalks all the way to Flaherty Park so Taylor Street Park wouldn’t need repetitive uses.
“We have the resources here already; all we have to do is make it more accessible,” Shackleford said.
Wake Forest commissioners recently agreed to use parks and recreation bond monies to build a sidewalk along White Street all the way to Flaherty Park.
At the start of next year, commissioners will look at specific spending for capital improvements, Commissioner Velma Boyd said, stressing the need for an answer from both the community group and the advisory board by then.
“In January, we’ll be listing priorities. We’ve got to hear what you’re thinking,” she said.