Community Running Tracks

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I like to run on tracks. Unfortunately, I graduated high school a very long time ago. The local high school keeps theirs locked up, so even when school is not in session, it's not available. I don't get why they do that. I don't get why, in a country that is suffering from an obesity crisis, tracks are barricaded off from the community that pays for them in the form of tax dollars.

Runner's World had this to say back in 2007
http://coachdeanhebert.wordpress.com/20 ... ide-issue/

Reading through that, and other stuff on the internet, I know I'm not alone. The general consensus seems to be "scale the wall" when dealing with it, and "it is easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission." I know that's what track loving runners do near me, but I really can't wrap my head around Breaking and Entering.

If the big concern is student safety, which is the only argument I don't remember seeing presented in Runner's World, why then, are there not adult tracks?

I think accessible community running tracks should be part of community planning. Thoughts? What's your track access look like?

If it were available on a strict schedule - say, every Monday and Thursday from 7:00 to 8:00 PM, would you use it?
Would you be willing to volunteer to organize such an activity?

My sister-in-law did something like that, years ago.
The town recreation department let her use the school gym once per week for an adult volley ball game.
We played for several years. Sometimes we had thirty people, sometimes only eight or ten.
Until she got married and moved out of town, and after that no one wanted the responsibility.
If you are a responsible adult with references, it might be worth asking.

I'd use it. That wouldn't work for the other local runners who currently illegally use it though. They're all on different schedules. Some are strictly AM runners, some are strictly weekend runners, some are strictly evening runners, some are strictly a specific day of the week runners. It just wouldn't work. With the limited activities that occur at the school during the summer, it's really silly that the school insists on keeping it fenced off so nobody can use it.

Thank the idiots who insist on suing over any possible slight they can imagine.

If a person slips and falls on the track when the school is closed, you can bet they are worried about being sued over it. At least if you have to jump the fence to get in, they can not only charge you with trespassing, but they can claim you assumed the risk by trespassing.

It's the same as having a trampoline or a pool on your property. If a kid hops your fence to use it and gets hurt/killed, you can be sued because you presented an "attractive nuisance." They might not win, but defending yourself in a lawsuit isn't cheap.

But that doesn't make sense. We have unguarded basketball courts and playgrounds. I don't play tennis, but I've lived in places where those have been available for the public to use.

It might be a graffiti concern? But then, like the link says, more people present would take care of that. Also, I don't live in an area where vandalism is an issue.