Some Public Recreation Allowed To Resume, Exactly What Depends On The City
TARRANT COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) - Cities under the same state order to allow some recreation to resume again starting Friday, are making different decisions as to what that would include.
Tennis courts and golf courses should open again, under Governor Greg Abbott's latest executive order.
Some cities are expanding that to include restrooms, benches and park pavilions. Others are unlocking dog parks.
Still others, including the cities of Fort Worth and Mansfield, have not made any announcements or been able to answer questions Thursday evening about what facilities they would reopen the next day.
Southlake was preparing to have one of the larger lists of reopened facilities, including batting cages at parks, and picnic tables.
Assistant city manager Alison Ortowski said city staff based the decision from the perspective of what tennis and golf players might expect to have available if they used city courts.
"With a real attention to if we open these amenities, what practices are we going to put in place to make sure we are sanitizing them and cleaning them as safe as possible to use if people choose to use them," she said.
Arlington was planning to open its tennis center, but restrooms, pavilions and water fountains in parks will remain closed.
Director of Parks Lemuel Randolph explained the city didn't have enough operational staff to monitor group size, which Abbott said should be limited to four people. It also wouldn't be possible to sanitize facilities to the extent needed by current state guidelines.
Most cities are keeping playgrounds closed for that same reason.
Some dog parks, in Keller and Southlake, are expected to reopen.