If you are wondering why there are less peaceful weekends in the Land Park area located at Riverside Blvd and 12th Avenue, we have to tell you; that we don’t know either.
Since its beginning, the founder envisioned William Land Regional Park as a place where people of all income levels and cultures could come to enjoy the fresh air and a calm, safe place for children to play. Unfortunately, a small subset of people is ignoring the rights of others, using the park for their interests and not for how it was intended.
Any place where the public gathers, there will be those who push the limits on what is acceptable. Like toddlers who test the rules, some adults will do whatever they like to see what the rest of the public will tolerate. That is the current situation in the Land Park “Panhandle” area located at Riverside Blvd and 12th Avenue.
While walking my dog through the park on a recent weekend, I witnessed food containers, alcohol bottles, and dirty diapers tossed around the ground instead of in trash bags. People were drinking hard liquor while music was at a level that rattled the windows of nearby homes. I could hear racial slurs in discussions and in the lyrics. Cars sped through the park doing “tricks” while blasting tunes and blocking traffic. I saw some visitors throwing firecrackers on the street. The smell of exhaust and marijuana smoke was thick in the air.
To be clear, I understand everyone has their idea of what relaxing and celebrating looks like. The point is, that a park with a children’s playground and family-friendly amenities is not the same area designed to accommodate heavy drinking, smoking, and other behaviors found in bars and sideshows. We should be able to agree on what activities fit particular spaces.
Some folks might say, “It’s the Lowriders.” That’s not entirely true. I’ve spoken to respected lowrider car club leaders. They don’t like this behavior either. Many have fond memories of Land Park as children and want to continue that legacy with their own families. They are working hard to partner with us and find fair solutions to car show activities in the park.
Go to these links on the LPCA YouTube channel to hear several car club leaders’ perspectives at our May 23rd meeting. It’s in two parts: (go to the 20:00 minute mark): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3m-gwazmx8 Start at the beginning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2MWUKI8quc.
What Can be Done to Bring Peace back to Land Park?
First, it requires collaborating with our city council leaders, SacPD, and parks to find solutions. The LPCA has made the first step and sent a letter to our city council representatives: Panhandle ltr 2022.06.22 LPCA
People are right to believe park rangers and Sacrament PD are the ones to manage lousy behavior and site those breaking the law. Unfortunately, law enforcement is understaffed and must prioritize their work every day. Managing rotten attitudes and enforcing rules in one of 230 parks in Sacramento is not a priority.
So, are we left to feel bullied into accepting a lesser quality of life in the park? No.
Here is what you can do:
- Please work with us to advocate for hiring more Park Rangers who can patrol our parks frequently and enforce the park rules.
- Support law enforcement to get more tools like PODS to identify cars and people causing problems and endangering others.
- If nothing else works, we may have to advocate for closing the panhandle gates until there is a solid plan to address harmful behavior.
At the moment, City councilwoman Katie Valenzuela is taking the lead on William Land Regional Park issues in our district. Rick Jennings is supporting as needed. Councilwoman Valenzuela has declared the gates remain open at the Land Park Panhandle. We understand she may not realize the entire history surrounding those gates and why they were installed in the first place. It happened decades before her time. Our LPCA President and life-long Land Park resident was here when it occurred. He would tell CM Valenzuela the gates were installed because, like right now, lousy behavior got out of control, and law enforcement couldn’t manage the trouble. Neighbors could no longer tolerate the destruction of peace and quality of life in the park. Closing the gates was the only solution that worked.
Hopefully, we can find a better solution today, but that takes real community engagement. The discussion must include law enforcement, public education, and personal accountability.
Finally, let’s question how to best use areas like the Land Park Panhandle. If a park is supposed to be a peaceful place where people can ride bikes, skate, and enjoy nature and fresh air, can our city leaders support activities for that? With so much talk about climate change and the need for more green spaces, it seems we are not going in the right direction with litter, cars, noise, and air pollution.
Until areas like the Land Park Panhandle receive the respect it deserves, there will be no peace for visitors or neighborhoods.
If you want to support the LPCA with a cleaner, safer park, please reach out to eboard@landpark.org. If you are ready to get more involved, you are welcome to review the Park Committee and Public Safety committee pages and submit an application to the LPCA.
Kristina Rogers is a 20-year resident of the Land Park neighborhood and Vice President of the Land Park Community Association.