(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- An effort to allow more children and teens to play in a baseball and softball program on Chicago's North Side has both support and opposition.
The Welles Park Parents Association, which organizes baseball and softball leagues for players from the ages of 5 to 19, doesn't have enough games for all those who want to play at the fields along Lincoln Avenue between Montrose and Sunnyside.
So, the association has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to install lights at Welles Park to allow games to be played as late as 9:30 p.m.
Lara Weber lives across from the park and belongs to an opposition group called "Protect Welles Park.” Members say night games would lead to problems including light pollution, noise, increased traffic at night and a shortage of parking.
“We have so apartment buildings along here, and those folks park on the street. That will an impact on the businesses around here, too,” she said.
Weber says instead of installing lights at Welles Park, the money raised could be used to improve baseball and softball fields at other parks so more games could be played there.
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