Boyle Park, Little Rock's Emerald Gem, Is In Need Of A Polish

Boyle Park was a great Little Rock park. Boyle Park is a good park. Boyle Park can be great again. Boom! Done! See you later.

No, I can't let it go at that. Let me give you some brief personal background, so this blog post has some context. On March 31, the Jenny, Marlowe and I moved into the Broadmoor neighborhood next to Boyle. We truly are about a 1-minute drive from the place. Both of us daily walk Marlowe there and have gotten to know it very well. It's convenient to us, and often beautiful.

Dense underbrush at Boyle Park needs
 thinning and could present a fire risk
 in dry, hot weather.

However, (come on, you knew a "however" or "but" was coming) it has been greatly neglected of late. Boyle Park is in desperate need of some Operations & Maintenance money from the city parks department. I'm going to give a brief list of deficiencies necessary corrections broken down into two categories: "sweat equity" and capital investment. Here they are:

"Sweat Equity" — applying existing resources and personnel
• Cut the grass, sweep the walkways, pick up the piles of brush and clear out the underbrush.
• Step up the police presence. Have patrol cars drive through more regularly.
• Use the city's new ranger program to employ docents who can give nature tours.
• Talk it up more as part of existing advertising and promotions of the parks and recreation. Make use of the inexpensive social media tools.
• Have parks personnel really monitor Boyle more rigorously to take care of the trash and dumping problems.

Broken and cracking asphalt with some
sidewalks is so bad as to present a
pedestrian hazard.

• Remove the washed out slaps of pavement which are just lying on the ground.

Capital Investment
• FIX the walkways. Several paths are very bumpy and broken up. Tree roots have done this and there likely isn't an easy way to repair some of them so they stay smooth, but the foot bridge approaches could be redone with concrete.
• Install more trash cans and empty them more frequently.
• Post signs identifying trees and other natural, growing features.
• Build in some more amenities like restrooms.
• Construct on or two more foot bridges to close some loops for joggers, walkers and bicyclists.
• Allow one or two private vendors to set up snack stands or places where park goers can relax and rehydrate.

Grass and reeds along some walkways
is so high as to present a visibility and
safety issue, too.

Boyle is an older park in what is now the center of the city. It is not Central Park and Little Rock is not Manhattan, but it could be as much of asset to the Little Rock in its own way as that more famous greenspace is to the Big Apple. I easily could see it becoming an arboretum and teaching tool, too. Of course, it's had problems. Someone told me that it once had a cruising problem. I think some people perceive it as dangerous. Like any place, it's good to stay alert, but I've never had a problem there in terms of safety — unless you count nearly tripping on a bumpy park of a paved pathway.

Although bicyclists and others do use the park now, I expect many, many more would if these paved trails were smoothed out. More activity actually strengthens the atmosphere of safety. Don't get me wrong. The park is heavily used. Several times this summer it has been so hot that I have thought to myself, "No one will be here today" only to find one of the pavilions full of people with a group or family. Picnickers and other celebrants use the pavilions daily. The small, scruffy basketball court also is gets frequent play. Children almost always are playing on the recreational equipment there.

Just some Roundup could take care of a weed problem
in some areas of Boyle Park.

Before I go any further, I want to say that I am sure in these financially strapped times the city Parks Department is doing whatever it can, but some of these things just needs greater diligence. Others will require appropriations of money. I hope that that the city of Little Rock, which is making needed improvements to MacArthur Park, will not forget its other parks like Boyle.

I've read that Little Rock made a conscious decision to allow some park areas, where appropriate, to go wild. That's fine but that presents its own set of problem. The thick underbrush in a dry, hot summer like recent ones could be a fire hazard. If Boyle ignited and got out of control, it actually could threaten some nearby homes. The brush and tall grass catch litter. Finally, the overgrown areas obscure lines of sight and could make it easier for folks with less than honorable intentions to lurk and loiter with impunity.

Despite all its minor problems, Boyle Park still is a good park. I love it, Jenny loves it and Marlowe really loves it. Discover it if you haven't already, and let's all show it some real love and care.

Rating: Boyle Park — B; Potential — A+.