Compass Park Debate Overshadows Need for Appropriate Teenage Hangout
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February 10, 2009 • Elisabeth Bishop
Filed under Opinion
The spinning rides are surprisingly exciting, even for middle and high school kids that outgrew playgrounds half a decade ago.
By day, the Compass Park playground in Northwest Crossing is crowded with young families; by night it becomes a hotspot for local teenagers.
Some of the spinning toys were removed from the park after police received frequent complaints from neighbors about the noise level late at night.
The evening visits have continued, however, and remaining toys will likely be removed this winter.
Dismantling the playground will keep teens from hanging out there, sure enough, but it will not solve the underlying problem.
Teenagers in Bend have very few appropriate places to hang out with their friends, particularly at night.
There should be no mystery as to why the Compass Park playground appeals to the over-ten age group.
The playground is exciting, conveniently located, and free – in many ways, the perfect hangout spot for groups of kids with limited money and transportation.
From the retail and entertainment industry to the Parks and Recreation Department, Bend was clearly designed with wealthy retirees and young families in mind. Not many shopping centers, businesses or parks cater to a growing teenage population.
Downtown Bend, for instance, consists primarily of bars, high-end restaurants and pricey boutiques.
The Old Mill District seems like the obvious choice for Bend kids that want to hang out on the weekends, but teens are not welcome unless they have money to spend.
I worked at the Old Mill for over a year and knew the security staff by name. They are a very nice group of people, but to quote one guard, they get paid to “yell at kids who are standing around.”
Their job is basically to keep the Old Mill attractive to upscale adults by discouraging teens from hanging around the area. By nine o’clock, the stores and restaurants appropriate for minors have closed, and security tells the stragglers to clear out unless they are seeing a movie.
Bend remains famous for outdoor activities, but kayaking or skiing is a somewhat impractical option after dark.
Most of the teens that frequented Compass Park over the past eighteen months were not drinking or looking for trouble. The park simply fulfilled a need in the local teenage community that Bend’s high-end shopping centers could not.
Bend needs a Compass Park designed for teens – a convenient and free hangout where groups of kids can have fun without anyone yelling at them or calling the police.
If the Bend Parks and Recreation Department provides an acceptable alternative to Compass Park, most of the late-night visits will cease and the spinning toys can be replaced.
Riverbend Community Park, which is currently under construction, would be an ideal location for a teen hangout. It is situated in a safe area, across from Farewell Bend Park and adjacent to the Old Mill District. With no residential neighborhoods near Riverbend Park, adolescents could party quite loudly without disturbing anyone’s rest.
When completed, this park will be the new home for the Parks and Recreation District administrative offices. Why not designate one room in this sprawling building as a teen center?
The Bend Parks and Recreation Department could enlist the help of community volunteers to decorate this room. Some possibilities for entertainment include music equipment, donated video games, a pool or ping-pong table and eventually a small rock-climbing wall. It should be open to teens on Friday and Saturday nights as late as possible.
To draw teens toward the teen center and away from Compass Park, some spinning toys should be placed outside the building.
A small skate park could also be built nearby; the only public skate parks in Bend are located at the outskirts of town.
Such a project would certainly be expensive, but I believe local teens would be willing to help with fund raising. So would the residents of Northwest Crossing and other areas where teens hang out late at night.
In any case, Bend already has over 30 playgrounds for young children, not counting the school playgrounds. Yet it offers virtually nothing for preteens and teens.
A special area for teenagers should take priority over building more playgrounds and trails.
The Compass Park situation is indicative of a larger problem in Bend. Teenagers are not welcome anywhere after dark, so they inevitably hang out where they are not welcome.
The city of Bend can handle this conflict in two ways.
The easy solution is to permanently remove the best toys from the Compass Park playground, thus punishing the children of Northwest Crossing along with the teenage visitors.
Once the spinning toys are gone, teens will stop frequenting the playground. In time, they will find a new park to go to at night, the police will respond to dozens of calls about the noise level and the cycle will continue.
Alternatively, the Parks and Recreation Department could stop vilifying the teens that play at Compass Park and invite them to be part of the solution.
The city of Bend could encourage local teens’ input and help to create a place where they are welcome to hang out with their friends.
Nobody, not even a crowd of rowdy teens, enjoys having their Friday night interrupted by a disgruntled police officer.
If the city of Bend makes an effort to solve the problem of a teen hangout, the local teenage population will rise to the occasion.
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