Community Post

Locked gate @ Garfield Track Field

The entrance gate to the track field has been locked all weekend, through this morning. I have been on the telephone and emailing both the City of Seattle and Parks and Recreation all morning and they are pointing the finger at each other. It is apparently not clear to them who has authority to lock the gate so therefore they certainly can’t figure out how to unlock the gate. I just got referred back to the Seattle Public Schools and am awaiting an email from them. The official score is parks 3, schools 4 in terms of the amount of calls I made. I have seen a lot of people try to access the field all weekend and this morning. Only the truly physically fit can jump the fence to access the field. Looks like those trying to get into shape are going to have to wait until the mystery key is discovered.

Update: received the following message from Ted Howard Garfield Principal:
The field was locked after hours at my request it was reported by neighbors that dogs were digging up the field and leaving feces on the field. After the contractor inspected the field he found that it was true. Dogs had dug up part of the field. We will need to repair the field. We want everyone to enjoy the field but we may from time to time have to do repairs if someone is using the field inappropriately. We have posted signs on the field to let people know that animals are not allowed on the field for that very reason. We are working on finding a solution for this problem.

0 thoughts on “Locked gate @ Garfield Track Field

  1. …they quickly found the key once school started, as always, plenty of kids walking around on the field over lunch (I ride by nearly every day…). Maybe an over-eager teacher/coach??

    GO PHILS!

  2. They did not unlock the gate when school started. The gym classes simply scaled the fence as did the kids @ lunch. Haven’t heard from the school district.

  3. It is now 24 hours since I first posted, the gate is still locked and I just learned that it is indeed locked per the Garfield principal’s request. He is out of the office until tomorrow and I have emailed him for a response regarding the circumstances of the lockout. It seems pretty crazy that the students continue to have to jump the fence to use the field.