Council Cuts Hours At New Playground Noise Complaints Call For Sunset Closure At Fort Sherman Facility In City Park

Late-night swingers and jungle-gym junkies will have to find another place to hang out in the wee hours of the night.

The Fort Sherman Playground now is closed every night from one hour after sunset until 8 a.m.

The City Council passed a new ordinance this week limiting the hours of use at the popular playground at the request of the Coeur d’Alene Police Department.

“They were getting several complaints from the neighborhood,” said Parks Director Doug Eastwood.

“They said they had to go to the facility on numerous occasions between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m.”

No doubt, those midnight rowdies weren’t the little tykes the playground was designed to please.

The park opened May 20 after a whirlwind of volunteer work erected the fanciful and maze-like structure in less than a week.

The architectural firm that designed the playground suggested that the city would want to establish hours of operation to maintain peace in the neighborhood and reduce the possibility of vandalism, Eastwood said.

The hours at the playground now are the same as the hours at the nearby skateboard park.

The City Council had no qualms about limiting the hours at the playground and approved the new ordinance with a unanimous vote.

, DataTimes