PARK: Perfect place for carousel

Now that there are TWO full basketball courts at McEuen Park, why not put the Playland carousel at the city park basketball court next to the beach? It was only a couple hundred feet from there from 1942 to 1974 (http://www.playlandcarousel.org).

It’s time for the new city administration to get with the program. The carousel has been in storage for over three years now. Enough is enough. The kids are being rooked out of childhood memories.

The Spokane carousel is the jewel of Riverfront Park. Replacing the “rough language” of the basketball court with the happy sounds of a carousel would make downtown a special place for families to be. The city can dedicate the land and the Panhandle Parks Foundation (http://panhandleparksfoundation.org/) could raise money for a building at no cost to the taxpayer. The Rotary built the bandstand and the city built the bathroom and maintenance buildings so any malarkey about the federal government not allowing it is hot air.

Let’s work together to make the carousel and Coeur d’Alene City Park a world-class attraction that we can all be proud of. Want proof? Visit the carousels in Missoula, Salem and Helena.

RICHARD LeFRANCIS

Coeur d’Alene