EAGLE, IDAHO — Eagle Police and Eagle's Parks Department have come together to enforce parking rules for visitors who leave their vehicles in off-limits areas.
- People have been parking in places that are against the rules or are safety-liability.
- Effective immediately, police will be ticketing those who park in off-limits spots.
- For more info on where you can park click here.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
If only parking at Merrill Park was always this easy. I'm your Eagle neighborhood reporter Alexander Huddleston at Merrill Park where the city of Eagle is going to start ticketing folks who park in places that are considered off-limits.
"Just to have a place to come to enjoy with families, and kids, and soccer," explained one dad.
Merrill Park right off the Green Belt tucked away in the Eagle River development area, is a very popular park for locals of all ages.
One teen said, "I really do think Merrill Park is a communal accessible area, and I want it to be available to every Eagle resident."
The dad continued, "This area was built for a reason, built for families and kids, which is why I'm here today with my family."
But those families could soon see fines. The existing lot leads to a bit of a parking problem for parkgoers. On busy days when available spaces are sparse visitors park outside the park's boundaries impacting other businesses.
"Perhaps at the time, this was not developed, we didn't think of the potential growth that might take place, but now we are at that point. So what do we do, how do we fix it?" suggested the dad.
The city of Eagle is taking steps to address the problem, sharing this map online. Areas in green, you're totally fine. Those in red, you risk a fine.
I talked to a few teens who did park in an off-limits area because the main lot was full. It worried them that they could soon see a special surprise under their wiper blade.
One of the teens explained, "Because it's such a big park and a beautiful park. I think more people should be able to park in areas that are nearby and not have to park in places all the way down there, or if this place gets filled up, they just can't attend it."
"We do want to be able to use these common spaces from our government, which we enjoy, said the third teen.
I went and spoke with the managers over at Homewood Suites and Coyne’s who say that being a partner with the community is very important, but at the end of the day, they need to be able to reserve parking for their guests and customers.
