This week, the Burlington Parks & Recreation Commission unanimously voted down a proposal to build an 18-hole disc golf course at Leddy Park in the city’s New North End.
As with any hotly debated topic, it takes more than a single vote to keep a good controversy down.
As readers of “Fair Game” know, this has been a controversial issue in Burlington and one I’ve poked fun at, given the intense opposition and emotional outbursts at public hearings — largely outbursts by opponents. Same-sex marriage had an easier, and less emotional, go-round as public policy than disc golf has. Only in Vermont.
In fact, given the debate in yesterday’s U.S. Senate, I could see Guantanamo Bay being closed down before a disc golf course is ever sited in Burlington. And with good reason: Disc golf is certainly a security threat. Especially if you’re a tree or woodland creature, or someone strolling peaceably through the woods, according to opponents.
But I digress. There really are serious issues at play here.
This article appears in May 20-26, 2009.
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“Same-sex marriage had an easier, and less emotional, go-round as public policy than disc golf has. Only in Vermont.”Yeah, gay marriage was a breeze…. Oh, I get it, “Vermont’s Alternative Weekly” needs a blog and you threw a few words together. Nevermind.
Why bother with a 9-hole course? Why not build a full course, just elsewhere? LIKE ON THE WATERFRONT. (to the geniuses who are suggesting the old landfill site in the Intervale… it’s not yet safe to develop, very close to homes, and ONE folks have had ideas for developing a park there for a while.. get in line!)