SOUTH TALLAHASSEE, FL — Leon County Schools has closed public access to high school tracks after repeated incidents of misuse and damage, including vandalism, trash, and dogs on fields.
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The district reopened tracks at Leon and Chiles high schools about a year ago in response to community requests for public access during morning and evening hours. School leaders say the decision to close them again came after ongoing damage to the facilities.
"We had an incident where a guy had a 45 pound weight strapped on his back to a harness, dragging it down the track, just totally shredding the track. So it's unfortunate that, the people that were doing it the right way, are going to not be allowed, but you know, at the end of the day, we have to protect our facilities," LCS Superintendent Rocky Hanna said.
Hanna said replacing a track costs more than $1 million, making the damage difficult to absorb.
"These tracks are expensive. To replace a track is a little over a million dollars, so it's not cheap, and when you have individuals that are coming and dragging equipment down those down those million dollar tracks, it just break it breaks my heart," Hanna said.
Hanna also said some for-profit businesses were using the tracks for commercial purposes, which was never the intent of the public access program.
Jason Comfort, who is from Miami, where access to tracks is common, said the closures highlight a broader problem with limited outdoor fitness options in Tallahassee.
"Well, down south, most of the parks have tracks available for the community, where we can walk around, we can run, and basically we just have tracks available, whereas in Tallahassee, they're only at the local high schools," Comfort said.
Comfort said losing access has forced people indoors and reduced outdoor fitness options across the city.
"Just having a track available is great for the community, because it pushes exercise onto the community," Comfort said.
Comfort said community responsibility will be essential if public access is to return in the future.
"Even though it's a public track, we should respect it and treat it as if it's our own, and not be out here littering, damaging it, and just treating it with respect," Comfort said.
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