Should the Basketball Court at Mill Creek be Made into a Parking Lot?

The Upper Moreland Parks and Rec Committee addressed the need for additional parking at Mill Creek Park at its monthly meeting this week.

The Dog Park opened last year and now officials are discussing whether or not they should provide more space for parking by converting the basketball court into a parking lot.

Currently, people who drive to the park have to navigate around the court and a utility pole, and some drivers are using the grass to park their cars.

Upper Moreland Parks and Rec director Pat Stasio met with township engineers a year ago, and they determined the basketball court would qualify as an entrance/exit point, but there is no money budgeted toward that.

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Parks and Rec Chair Kevin Spearing advised the board that they should continue to monitor the parking situation for the time being before any decision is made.

“It’s not a budgeted item,” Spearing said. “We have to continue to monitor the activity and identify the risk of parking on the lawn and the grass. It could create a worse condition.”

Some commissioners debated how frequently the court was used and if there would be any consequences to removing a mainstay in the township.

Stasio said it was used “infrequently.” Basketball camps used the court when the park first opened, but no longer do because the crossroad is a dangerous, heavy populated street.

“I don’t think we have many residents drive to park to play basketball,” Stasio said.

Spearing added that he would like to monitor the activity at the park and the Police Department can assess the risks of leaving the parking lot as is.