One of the biggest perks of living in South Florida is the abundance of public parks that serve as year-round tropical havens from gridlock, suburban sprawl and the daily grind of life.

Except on Tuesdays. And starting in the fall, on Wednesdays.

With barely a peep from the public, Broward County has been increasingly locking parks down. Less than two years ago, the county sought to save on holiday overtime pay by shutting parks three days a year. I learned this the hard way last Veteran's Day when I arrived at Topeekeegee Yugnee Park in Hollywood with a carful of kids excited to feed the ducks.

As the county's tax revenues continued to decline, it decided to close 14 of the 18 regional parks on Tuesdays, except during the summer. Again, I learned this the hard way. A friend and I whimsically sought to go on a nature walk a couple of days before Thanksgiving but were met by locked gates at three different parks. ``What is going on here?'' we wondered.

Now that the county faces a $100 million shortfall, Wednesdays are on the chopping block. Miami-Dade, even deeper in the red, is poised to lay off staff at all five nature centers and scale back park maintenance by 25 percent.

Green spaces may not be the most vital service provided by local governments, but we take their presence for granted, like cozy old friends who will still be there whenever we need them.

I remember as a kid picnicking with my family at Matheson Hammock in Miami, especially the time we saw an alligator near the lake. I remember taking my older daughter when she was a toddler to Greynolds Park in North Miami Beach and pointing out all the living creatures -- there's a spider, see that bird, check out that crab. And I remember the thrill of seeing her ride a bike without training wheels for the first time along the circular path at Brian Piccolo Park in Pembroke Pines.

Matt Kuttler, 37, has been playing adult softball for years at the park, named for the football star whose death from cancer at age 26 inspired the movie Brian's Song. He and hundreds of other Tuesday and Wednesday night players will have to find new fields of dreams under the proposed county budget.

On any given Tuesday or Wednesday evening, parking spaces are hard to come by as four games go on at one time. Players linger to see if another team could use a sub, while their kids try to sneak into the dugout. Cheers and the crack of the bat pierce the muggy summer nights.

Kuttler, who owns a business selling restaurant supplies online, said about half of the players on his team are Jewish, the rest Hispanic. For a little while, they forget about the office and the bills and feel like boys again.

``I know people who play who are plumbers, and I know people who are doctors and lawyers,'' Kuttler said. ``It's a good thing for the community because you meet people from all walks of life.''

Kuttler and other players have been e-mailing county commissioners, arguing that the fees they pay help cover the costs of keeping the parks open. Perhaps they need to take a cue from the protesters who have been crashing town hall meetings on healthcare reform across the country.

Commissioner Lois Wexler, whose district includes the softball fields, is encouraging parkgoers to go to public hearings on the budget on Sept. 10 and 22. No one showed up last year to protest the Tuesday closings, she said.

``I'd like us to look at these budget cuts with a scalpel instead of a sledgehammer,'' Wexler said. ``If a person actually stands up and takes the time to talk to the board of county commissioners, it may encourage my colleagues to reconsider.''

Beth Reinhard is the political writer for The Miami Herald.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@