Name:

Aneta P.

Award:

2nd Prize

Category:

9th-12th

Essay:

If I were in charge of Lakewood Village, I would address the lack of parking and safety around Lakewood Park because it is the hub, not the downfall, of the Village.

Too many times I have passed Lakewood Park, found myself stuck in the traffic of party-goers in their cars and had no space to park my own car near my home.  We cannot prevent all events from being held in the park, so the solution is to create more parking.  A 20 space lot between the fence and picnic tables where the dumpster currently is, and expanding the lot next to the pool would alleviate the problem. People attending parties, baseball games and the pool would all be grateful.
Crucial items that are missing in the community are two stop signs on the intersection of Silverlake and Lakedale next to Lakewood Park.  Children are constantly crossing Silverlake from the park, but often large, parked cars block drivers from seeing them.  Some drivers also enjoy speeding on such a long, uninterrupted street.  We cannot wait until a tragic accident finally awakens us.  Stop signs would allow pedestrians to cross safely into the park and discourage speeding.  A bonus would be the much-wanted increased police patrols because they would need to enforce the new signs.

If the Village does increase parking and adds a stop sign, the costs may prompt some people to want to cancel the annual Holiday Parade. I think the parade would actually be beneficial to us because revenue could be raised at the picnic after the parade.  By charging $5 per adult and $3 per child (ages 4-12) and having the City chip in, we would eventually raise enough money to pay off these new and much needed additions.

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