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P/SUNNY Temp: 36 °F Wind: SW at 3 mph Wednesday, April 2, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend March 19, 2003 Conrad Godfrey, 13, dunks a basketball in a portable hoop by his house on Nadine Lane in Central Point Tuesday. City officials say they will begin enforcing rules prohibiting the hoops from blocking sidewalks or facing streets. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Central Point cracks down on STREET HOOPS City officials plan to enforce rules barring portable basketball hoops from being left on sidewalks and streets when not in use By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT � Plans to ban portable basketball hoops from city rights of way beginning April 18 have some residents crying foul. But city officials say the portable hoops are causing problems for pedestrians and that repeat offenders could face fines of up to $250. City Administrator Phil Messina said Monday that portable hoops always have been prohibited from blocking sidewalks or facing streets. But the city had never enforced the sidewalks rule because few complaints had been made. Until recently, that is. "Basically, we’ve had several complaints from folks who have tried to take walks in their neighborhood and have to either step over the base of these portable basketball hoops or step into the street," said Messina. "We’ve got a lot of elderly residents, and it’s not so easy for them to get down off the curb or walk around something like that." On a recent drive around town, Messina said, he rarely found a street where there weren’t several hoops standing in driveways. "It’s just epidemic how many we’ve got," he said. "We went out to take a look, and in an hour and 15 minutes — and I couldn’t believe this — we counted 148. And that was only half to less than three-quarters of the town." Medford and Ashland reported having similar rules about the portable hoops, but enforcement is hit or miss. Messina said beginning April 18, residents could still place the portable hoops on sidewalks while playing basketball but must remove them when done playing. City code enforcement officer Ron Barnett said he would start enforcing the rule by giving out warnings but that subsequent violations would result in fines ranging from $77 to $250. Brothers Conrad and Austin Godfrey, ages 13 and 6, who were playing Tuesday in front of their home inside Griffin Oak Estates off of West Pine, were unhappy to hear of the pending enforcement. "It’s stupid. We have to have something to do and the balls won’t bounce in the grass," said the 13-year-old, dribbling a basketball. "Besides, it only takes maybe three steps to walk around it." The boys’ parents, Sherrie and Bill Godfrey, were annoyed as well. "They probably have 10 balls. They play all the time," said Sherrie Godfrey. "They love it and it gets them outside. It figures that the one thing the kids have to do, that they have to try and stop them. You’d think the city had other things it could spend its time worrying about." Robin Patterson, who lives off of Scenic Avenue, said it was unfortunate that "the basketball cop" seemed constantly on a mission to prevent kids from playing a game they enjoyed. Her two grandsons come to her house after school each day to play basketball and often have "tournaments in the cul-de- sac" with neighbors in a subdivision with more than two dozen portable hoops throughout. "We had ours in the street and they came this summer and said we’d get a ticket if we didn’t move it onto the sidewalk. Now they’re going to gripe about it being where they told us to put it, so I guess it will have to go where it blocks the garage door and we can’t get our car out. You just can’t make anybody happy." Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S