Kudos to the city of Mercer Island and the Mercer Island Center for the Arts for agreeing to leave Mercerdale Park alone and build a performing arts center somewhere else on the Island.

The park is heavily used for all sorts of physical activities including walking, jogging, dog walking, frisbee throwing, using exercise stations and general play for kids from the surrounding Mercerdale residences. There’s very little parking so it makes no sense to put concentrated activities there. As the Town Center has grown over the past 20 years, a park like this that residents can walk to, which fosters outdoor activities has become more and more important.

My friends in the surrounding areas tolerate the neighborhood being parked up for Summer Celebration and Mostly Music in the Park, but are terrified at the danger to their kids and to the quality of the neighborhood if crowding occurs on a regular basis.

I’ve lived here all my life. I graduated from the high school. Many of you know me from my work at Albertson’s checking for 15 years. I have friends on both sides of the building in the park proposal and it hurts me to see our community torn apart.

In the past, similar fighting happened with constant proposals to put a golf course in Pioneer Park. The city created a land conservancy, which has worked out well, preserving the park. That’s what should happen here. City Council — please do us all a favor and put Mercerdale Park in the land conservancy.

Andy Maloof

Mercer Island