George Rogers Park Is Over Capacity — Neighborhood Says City Must Act

Derrith Schmidt
2 days ago
3 min read

Old Town Neighborhood Association (OTNA) Summary from May 6 Meeting With City Leaders from Parks & Recreation, Traffic Engineering, LOPD, and Fire

Kyra Haggart from Parks & Recreation did a nice job explaining the new river pathway construction plan and answering questions. (See separate blog post about that project.)

She explained that construction equipment will take up eight or more parking spaces at GRP, and that construction workers will not be parking their trucks at GRP or in the neighborhood. They will park down by the river construction area.

There was acknowledgment from City staff that George Rogers Park (GRP) is overused on hot days from May through September due to heavy use from:

People going to “the beach”
Regular Parks & Recreation activities
Playground visitors
Tennis players
Cyclists and walkers

OTNA has been raising concerns to the City leaders for more than a year that there is insufficient parking at GRP, and that neighborhood streets should not become the overflow parking lot for the park.

Last May, OTNA asked the City to develop a proactive traffic flow and parking mitigation plan for busy summer days, similar to the plans the City implements for the Lakewood Arts Festival and concerts at Foothills Park. No such plan has been developed.

We were told that residents should call the non-emergency police number and officers will issue tickets. We appreciate the response from LOPD. However, we believe a proactive approach to traffic flow and parking enforcement would be far more effective than relying solely on resident complaints after problems occur. Temporary signage and traffic management measures could help significantly.

The “No Parking” signs requested by OTNA during last May’s walkabout with Will Farley have still not been installed, nor is there currently a plan to do so.

OTNA also requested last May that Parks & Recreation:

Not renew the Alder Creek rental lease. The contract has since been renewed for summer 2026. No explicit reason given why this was renewed at GRP.
Limit reservations for the Picnic Shelter off Furnace Street, especially on weekends. This has not been done and continues to increase traffic and overflow parking in the neighborhood.

The City team’s response to OTNA’s concerns focused primarily on:

Social media education
Calling the non-emergency police number

As a neighborhood, we do not believe these measures alone are effective solutions.

If these same concerns were being raised within an HOA to its board, the issues would likely have been addressed more proactively.

As residents, we feel increasingly frustrated and placated despite being collaborative, respectful, and persistent in our efforts to work with the City.

We are asking the City to:

Develop and implement a proactive traffic mitigation and overflow parking plan for May through September.
Install the requested “No Parking” signage.
Develop a multi-year strategy to reduce activity-related parking demand at GRP. This longer-term strategy should include additional measures beyond those already discussed, including evaluating the impact of the Picnic Shelter and Alder Creek rentals. It should also include a plan to encourage SUP users, kayakers, and future pathway users to park at Roehr Park instead of GRP.

OTNA Board unanimously voted to approve sending this summary

Derrith Schmidt, Chair; Jim Perris, VP; Ann Garcia, Treasurer; Betsy Wosko, Secretary
Bruce Glabau; Carrie Kaufman; Jeannie McGuire; Michael Schmidt; Phillip Sterling

City employees attending the May 6, 2026 meeting: