Mountlake Terrace police responding to a disturbance at Lake Balllinger around 6:30 p.m. Sunday ended up ordering everyone out of the park area and closing it temporarily.
“There was a disturbancce/reported assault involving a large group of individuals,” said police spokesperson Commander Mike Haynes, adding that “officers encountered a number of hostile and intoxicated subjects and observed a variety of violations.
“Due to the potential of ongoing problems involving the safety of everyone present, officers cleared everyone out and closed the park temporarily,” Haynes said.
It’s a beautiful park and now draws a lot of people, the problem is we don’t have enough space to park everyone. There’s the match that lights the fuse. There was a line of cars parked in the entrance and exit. I have a picture if you want it?
Is the new park going to be another walking trail, that’s not safe to use?
There’s plenty of parking in the north lot.
The shift from family bbq’s and kids expanded swimming hole to individualized fishing off a lier, kayaking and paddle boards has created the parking problem. The family orientation kept the park civilized. Maybe a famiky swimming and bbq area can be opened up closer to the upper parking lot by the senior center.
Thats an excellent idea!
A sign at the south parking noting additional parking at north parking lot would be very beneficial.
A police kiosk should be set up and manned daily at the Senior Center. Police presence and visibility are critical in ensuring a safe environment for all. In addition, Ballinger parking lots should be closed from dusk to dawn (install a gate) to discourage late night/early morning illegal or unsafe activities.
This might be the best solution of all since daytime activities can be seen more easily even with an officer driving by, if not into the park. We as a city need to cutoff and discourage this type of activity up front before it becomes an easy trend, if it hasn’t already. It’s a wonderful community place, let’s keep it that way.