I went by Ballard Corners Park recently and noticed that it has gotten bigger.

The park now juts 4 to 5 feet out from the original curb line. This not only is a deviation from the plan as put forth on their Web site but also is a traffic and safety hazard in the making as it reduces that block to a one-lane road. It is too late to do anything about this now except to bring it to your attention and to share with you how discovering this made me realize the importance of being involved in the community.

The construction of the park has taken several years. During that time, the Ballard Corners Park group has been very up front about their plans to transform the site from a vacant lot and an uninhabited house into a vibrant neighborhood open space. There’s a billboard up on the site that details their plans and has contact information if people want to volunteer.

I appreciated the offer but was never able to find the time attend one of their meetings. I did, however take a look at their Web site and study their blueprint. From the blueprint it looked to me like they were going to have two large plant areas on both ends of the block with a couple of parking spaces in between.

As the months flew by, progress was made and construction really started in earnest last summer. I thought that it was great that they had kept the momentum going even though it seemed like there were long pauses in between parts of the construction process. Over the last month or two, the steel fence has inched further and further out into the street. While this began to cause traffic issues, it seemed like something you should take in stride because, hey, they’re building a park.

Last week, I walked over and took a closer look at what they had been doing and saw how the park had been extended out into the street. In addition, there was no parking area anymore in between the two plant areas.

This investigation was prompted because I found myself driving past the park at rush hour. 17th Avenue Northwest, despite being a side street, can get busy at times. The people who live across from the park have their cars parked out front, and people are going both ways down the street on foot, in cars and on bicycles. If the people who were going to and from the park were added into the mix, I could see a traffic and safety issue in the making.

17th Avenue Northwest in front of the park has basically been reduced to one lane with a roundabout on either end. One lane, that is, unless no parking is allowed on the opposite side of the street across from the park. That seems unfair to the people who have lived across from Ballard Corners Park through all of the construction.

It occurred to me that if I had taken the time to attend even one of their meetings, perhaps I would have noticed this change to their plans. Perhaps I could have brought up my concerns about traffic flow and safety. Perhaps I could have convinced them to modify or change their plans. Unfortunately, I will never know because I did not participate.

This whole incident has impressed upon me more than ever the importance of not only being aware of what is going on in your community but becoming involved as well.

Being involved in your community can take many forms. You could want to see something happen. Maybe you see something happening and you want to be a part of it. There may be something happening that you want to stop. Whatever the reason, there is something out there that has to get done and its waiting for you to lend a hand. From now on, whenever I pass by Ballard Corners Park, I will remember the valuable lesson its construction taught me.

Questions, comments, column idea? Please contact Brian Le Blanc at brianleblanc76@yahoo.com or leave a comment.